The Thing About Wildlife

Titir Debnath has been engaging with wildlife in many ways since she was in school, and stayed firmly on course through the years that followed. Now, after finishing her masters in environmental science and wildlife biology, she is learning as much as she can about the field of primatology by working on projects with different macaque species in India. You can find her on Instagram at @debnathtiti...

Neeharika Gogoi is a PhD scholar with Dr. Narayan Sharma in the Department of Environmental Biology and Wildlife Sciences, Cotton University.. Her work focusses on the gorgeous capped langur found close to where she lives in Assam, where she studies how their diet varies across wild and human-occupied areas. Select popular articles: 1. Why do we need to save Dehing Patkai? 2. Pig-tailed Macaque: E...

Welcome to Season-2 and an all-new segment on the podcast: The Thing About Wildlife - In a Nutshell . Here, I talk to researchers, students, educators, artists, field assistants and wildlife enthusiasts who bring you stories from their time in nature. Episode 1 will be up next week! 

Dear listener, On this last episode of Season One, we revisit our motivation for starting The Thing About Wildlife and reflect on highlights from our guests and what we learnt from them. We'll be back with Season Two very soon but until then, we'll keep you entertained with occasional snippets -- stay tuned! We're also keen on hearing from you: all feedback - suggestions, compliments and criticism...

Nupur Kale is a Project Associate with the Marine Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society - India . Her main research interests are sea turtle biology and conservation, and by extension all things marine. She is also interested in working with communities to ensure effective conservation and sustainable livelihoods. Popular articles: The blues and greens of Lakshwadweep Conservation Alliances...

Krishna Anujan is a community ecologist and nature enthusiast, and she's is studying the effect of biodiversity on tropical forest functioning in the Andaman Islands for her PhD at Columbia University. She regularly communicates science to the public through popular articles in English and Malayalam. Twitter: @KrishnaAnujan Popular Writing: What does the climate crisis mean for the Andaman Islands...

Tarun Nair is a herpetologist and conservationist associated with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bangalore (but views expressed on this podcast are personal). He has worked extensively in river systems across North India, rallying around the enigmatic Gharial . Key popular articles: Crocodile conservation doesn’t need a straw-man Saltwater crocodiles in the Andam...

Dr Meghna Agarwala is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Ashoka University. Her work focuses on the intersection of forest ecology, conservation biology and livelihoods of local people. Dr Agarwala is taking PhD students this year (2021-2022 admit)! Do write to her ( meghna.agarwala@ashoka.edu.in ) if you’re interested. Key Journal Articles : Improved household living standards can...

Welcome back to the second of our two-part chat with Vena! Vena Kapoor works with the Education and Public Engagement Programme at Nature Conservation Foundation in Bengaluru. She is interested in ecology, nature education research and outreach, looking for and documenting spiders and other 6 and 8 legged creatures. Twitter: @venadavenu Popular Writing: Spiders: the weavers and stalkers among us N...

Vena Kapoor works with the Education and Public Engagement Programme at Nature Conservation Foundation in Bengaluru. She is interested in ecology, nature education research and outreach, looking for and documenting spiders and other 6 and 8 legged creatures.  Twitter: @venadavenu Popular Writing: Spiders: the weavers and stalkers among us Nature Underfoot: Wild Flora and Fauna on City Pavemen...

Dr. Narayan Sharma studies community and behavioural ecology, and the conservation biology of the primates in the fragmented landscape of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley of northeastern India. He is also interested in political, human and landscape ecology, and ecological history. More recently, he has also been deeply involved in teaching environmental biology and wildlife sciences at Cotton College...

Nitya Prakash Mohanty is a herpetologist who has spent the last decade studying frogs and lizards, asking interesting questions about their patterns of invasion and sleep! He began his foray into wildlife with a master’s from the Wildlife Institute of India, wherein he studied spotted deer and frogs in the Andaman Islands. After a PhD and a postdoc in South Africa, Nitya is currently doing more po...

Nisarg Prakash is an engineer turned wildlife biologist. His primary interest is to conserve otters and their habitats. His work spans studying otters, or working with fishermen to understand the river better, and also their relationship with these animals. Nisarg works across several riverine systems, particularly the Kaveri river in Karnataka. He believes life along a river is infinitely more re...

Priya is an ecologist, with an interest in tropical forest diversity, dynamics and biogeography. She did her PhD on the biogeography and macroecology of small mammals in the Indian subcontinent. Her postdoctoral work was on African tropical forest-savanna dynamics. As part of her long-term research, she is interested in understanding forest recovery in northeast India and how human activities infl...

Nishant is a behavioural ecologist who studies Asian elephants in a human-dominated landscape. He has completed his doctoral work from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore under Prof. Anindya ‘Rana’ Sinha . He is fascinated by the behavioural plasticity of large mammals in their changing environments. Popular Writing: Globetrotters of the Asian Elephant Society This is Híristor’s...

Welcome to The Thing About Wildlife - a podcast that digs deep into the personal lived experiences of people from the fields of wildlife biology and conservation.