Into the Wild - Updates from July
Centre for Wildlife Studies
Wildlife Research | Science-based Conservation | Policy | Education
July has been eventful! We have been bustling with activity, launching exciting new collaborations, welcoming fresh faces, and joyfully reuniting with some familiar ones. Our scientists traveled to Aspen,?Coimbatore and Nairobi, presenting their findings and collaborating with other scientists and innovative leaders?from across the globe.
We also celebrated International Tiger Day, raising awareness about the science and conservation of these magnificent big cats.
We hope you enjoy this edition of Into the Wild, as we bring you the latest updates from our research, conservation, and education programs.
As we start a new school year, we are thrilled to announce the?expansion of our award-winning conservation education program, Wild Shaale!
In partnership with the National Geographic Society and?National Geographic Explorer Dr. Gabby Salazar, our team is poised to have a significant impact by bringing the Wild Shaale program to more than 15,000 kids in 300 schools throughout wildlife parks in India this year. We aspire to inspire millions of children from around the world in championing wildlife and wild lands.
With this in mind, we are seeking your invaluable support in accomplishing our goal of reaching 3,000 schools over the next five years.?Together, we are confident that Wild Shaale will continue to evolve, making a significant impact on environmental education and wildlife conservation across the globe!
Welcoming Back Mr. P. M. Muthanna!
We are delighted to share that Mr. P. M. Muthanna has rejoined us as Associate Director, Field Conservation!
Trained as a lawyer, Mr. Muthanna ran the Malenadu Vaarthe (Malenad News) tabloid, where he vigorously advocated significant conservation causes like illegal logging in the Kodagu forests. He was recruited by Dr. K. Ullas Karanth for his social skills, passion and empathy necessary to support the disenfranchised forest dwellers towards a better life and development outside the forest.?
From 2000 to 2018, Mr. Muthanna's leadership resulted in the voluntary relocation of over 2000 forest dwelling families out of critical habitats into settlements. The work done by forest guards, rangers, and officers?has significantly increased as a result of his assistance in law enforcement. Along with bringing attention to local media, his background includes facilitating the prevention of significant wildlife crime and arrests seizures while also assisting forest staff facing trials and threats.?
He has made the decision to return to CWS, where he started his career because he believes he can further our mission for wildlife conservation.
We are thrilled to welcome Aishwarya Anilkumar , Kavya Pandey , and Yashendu Joshi as they join us as Doctoral Fellows as part of our 2023 Doctoral Program.
Our 2023 Doctoral Program Orientation was held at our Bengaluru office on the 12th and 13th of July, to welcome our new cohort of Doctoral Fellows. The sessions provided a learning space for the organization's culture and ethics, as well as understanding how to set personal and organizational expectations. It aimed at enhancing the overall understanding of planning and expectations, while also emphasizing the significance of setting goals and recognizing the necessary skills for accomplishing them.
CWS Scientists At The 2023 Association For Tropical Biology And Conservation Conference, Coimbatore
Our scientists presented their ongoing work at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, held in Coimbatore from July 2nd to July 6th. The presentations focused on forest product extraction, human-otter interactions, human-gibbon relationships, human impacts on mammal temporal activity patterns and biodiversity, wildlife conservation and health in a forest-dependent community. These presentations engaged with the conference theme of “Balancing Science, Conservation, and Society”.?
Dr. Krithi Karanth At The 2023 Resnick Aspen Action Forum, Aspen
Our Executive Director Dr. Krithi K. Karanth was at the 2023 Resnick Aspen Action Forum held at Aspen, Colorado from 25th to the 28th of July. Aspen Fellows from around the globe spent a week in deep dialogue, lighthearted play,?generative skill-building and?advancing their capacity for courageous leadership.
They explored how to emerge into a future that did not recreate the divisions and harms of our past - but instead created structures and systems where we all belonged. The focus was on collaborating not just across lines of difference but also across lines of history.
Under the theme: Courage, Healing, and Repair, the Forum allowed them to address the challenges and opportunities that came with an interconnected world, remove the barriers of imagination, and take bold action to shape a new world together.
Dr. Bindu Raghavan At The 2023 International Association for Landscape Ecology World Congress, Nairobi
The?2023 International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE) World Congress was held from 10th to the 17th of July in Nairobi, Kenya. Our Principal Scientist and Faculty, Bindu Raghavan (Regional Coordinator- South, of the Indian Regional Association for Landscape Ecology (IRALE)), attended the conference and moderated a panel discussion on "Landscape Approach to Wildlife Management in India: where do we go from here?" with fellow IRALE members and panelists Dr. Ramesh Krishnamurthy of the Wildlife Institute of India (President, IRALE) Dr. P. V. Karunakaran of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology (Vice President?IRALE) and Dr. Debajit Datta of the Jadhavpur University (Regional Coordinator- East, IRALE).
The discussion was attended by other global landscape ecologists working in or familiar with the region and it is hoped that this will lead to a position paper on the same.?
Media Coverage
In a recent article by The Hindu, our Emeritus Director Dr. K. Ullas Karanth and our Affiliate Scientist Dr. N. Samba Kumar emphasize that the low tiger densities in most areas of Karnataka, except for well-protected reserves like Nagarahole and Bandipur, indicate the possibility of expanding the tiger population in the state's low-density regions.
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?“It’s far worse than I thought it would go—an absolute disaster,” says Dr. K. Ullas Karanth.
In a recent article by National Geographic, Dr. Karanth, renowned conservation zoologist and our Emeritus Director, states that the current approach taken is not a realistic path for reintroducing the species.
Stories From The Field
We are delighted to share that our?Wild Seve?program has completed 8 years of service! Launched in 2015, our Wild Seve program is an award winning novel conservation intervention that provides timely assistance to people affected by human-wildlife con?ict in India.
Till date, our resilient team has filed over 23,000 cases, assisting ~10,500 individuals and families in receiving ex-gratia payment from the Government. We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has supported us on this amazing journey, empowering communities, reducing conflicts, and creating a brighter future for both people and wildlife.
“Ponamma (name changed), a resident of Siriyur recalls an encounter with an elephant near the edge of a stream in the forest close to her home. One day, while collecting firewood around midday, she came across the elephant. Startled by her presence, the elephant approached her, causing her to fall to the ground. Ponamma decided to lie still, as if playing dead. While doing so, she silently prayed to the elephant God, Ganesh, asking the elephant to leave peacefully. After a few moments, realizing she was not a threat, the elephant peacefully walked away. Although Ponamma sustained injuries, she later recovered after seeking medical treatment.
She now happily returns to her work in the agricultural fields after a long recovery. When asked about conserving wildlife and elephants, Ponamma expresses the importance of having wildlife in the forests, as they hold cultural and economic significance for her and her community. Reflecting on the past incident, she believes it was a matter of unfortunate timing, as elephants typically visit the water to drink around that time. Despite the challenges posed by human population pressures, the ethos of shared space with wildlife has allowed India's wildlife to endure over the centuries.?
The Mudumalai Community Health Project under the?Wildlife Disease and Community Health Program?at CWS aims to understand the interlinkages between humans, livestock and wildlife through the framework of One Health. We believe that our health and well-being is intertwined with the health and well-being of our forests, wildlife and environment. The most sustainable means of achieving long-term biodiversity conservation in the complex landscape of India is to involve the local and tribal communities, whose lives and livelihoods directly depend on these forests, in the conservation and protection of these resources. After all, there is only ‘One Earth’ for all and we must all learn to live on it, together.”
– Bindu Raghavan ,Principal Scientist, Wildlife Diseases & Community Health Program
Scientists discovered that tigers diverged into six subspecies around 110,000 years ago, each with varying levels of genetic diversity and population characteristics. Geographic obstacles like the Himalayas and Sundaland influenced their divergence. Human activities, such as habitat destruction, hunting, and poaching, have also had a significant impact on the genetic diversity of tigers. The study has important implications for the conservation of tigers, and the scientists stress the importance of preserving the genetic diversity and unique evolutionary histories of the different subspecies.
Understanding the distribution, abundance and demographic ratios of endangered carnivores are important for their management planning. Many direct and indirect non-invasive methods have been used to collect data on the distribution of such species, but it is a difficult task to get accurate information because of their elusive and wide-ranging nature. To solve this issue, the scientists developed a novel, interdisciplinary method using degraded biological samples of tigers and leopards, collected from the Malenad Mysore Tiger Landscape thus also aiding in understanding large carnivore distribution at a landscape level.
?From bee-eaters, woodpeckers and owlets, to eagles, flamingoes, and hornbills, birds are all around us. India is home to around 1300 different species of birds. each with unique songs, behaviours, and adaptations. As ecosystems undergo sweeping transformations due to climate change and land use change, bird communities are experiencing shifts in composition and structure. What does the future hold for birds in the tropics?
On 29th June, we hosted an exciting discussion with Dr. Ghazala Shahabuddin from Ashoka University and Dr. Umesh Srinivasan from the Indian Institute of Science, moderated by our Research Fellow Vinni Jain. They discussed?how landscapes were changing and what it meant for birds and our planet.
?Tiger conservation in India, and worldwide, is focused on the objective of increasing tiger numbers. Decisions about which actions can achieve this objective require knowledge both of tiger populations and effects of different actions on those populations.?
On International Tiger Day, we hosted?an engaging discussion between Dr. James D. Nichols, who had worked for over four decades with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, and our Principal Scientist, Dr. Vikram Aditya.
Dr. Nichols discussed his 30+ years collaboration with Dr. K. Ullas Karanth and CWS, studying tiger-prey relationship, leading to new estimation methods and conservation actions for healthy prey populations.
As we reflect on the whirlwind of events that filled the month of July, we feel an immense sense of gratitude for your unwavering support. Furthermore, International Tiger Day filled us with hope and optimism for the future. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the natural world we cherish.
Warm regards,
Media and Outreach Team?
Centre for Wildlife Studies