Feral Dog and One Health

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Google News will present many examples across the globe if the word “feral” is searched. The adjective feral is attached to goats, cats, dogs, hog/swine, horses, and many more animals. More countries are recognizing “feral” as a pest and threat to crop production and conservation of wildlife species and thus are arming themselves with various mitigation measures like vaccination to extreme ones like killing. According to Mcknight 1961, feral animals are “those that have gone wild from a domestic state but in the practical sense any domestic species which can maintain themselves and reproduce in the wild”. Cambridge Dictionary defines feral based on ownership as “existing in a wild state, especially describing an animal that was previously kept by people”.

As early as 2008-09, the threat to wildlife by feral dogs was highlighted because of two conservation-critical species involved i.e. vulture and Olive Ridley turtle.  While conservation programs was underway for these two species, “feral dogs” were mentioned as a threat. A study calculated that an increase of vulture numbers by one decreases the sustainable dog population by 0.7; OR an increase in vulture numbers by one decreases the sustainable dog population by 6.79 dogs while estimating the net benefits of a vulture recovery program and diclofenac substitution. From arid habitat and observation of threat to few iconic species, the dog menace was documented from Himalayan region few years later. Spiti Valley recorded highest livestock depredation by feral dogs rather than other conservation iconic wild carnivores in a study. In another study in Himachal Pradesh, dogs were recognized as emerging threat to wildlife and in Thar desert identified feral dog as recognized threat where Blackbuck and chinkara depredation became a major reason for decline in population of the ungulate. While direct threat to wildlife was being recognized across India, another major concern was transfer of disease into wildlife as these feral dogs’ act as reservoir for rabies and canine distemper virus. According to WHO dataset, there was spike in new outbreak of rabies cases during 2011-15 (Figure 1). The Government efforts towards improving human health and vaccination against Rabies was running in parallel with growing concept and awareness about “One Health” and “Zoonotic diseases”. 

Figure 1 Rabies outbreak cases according to WHO

The feral dogs were posing threat to latitude of wild species and these accident sites started becoming ubiquitous. As per an online threat assessment , almost 80 species of wildlife were facing challenges due to feral dogs. These challenges especially in carnivore conservation in India became a bigger concern with report of a novel Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) strain in domestic dogs in India and further a similarity with CDV strain found in the infected Asiatic Lion . With more researches identifying feral dogs as reservoir around source population of tiger, a flagship species on which global investment has been consistent over years, the management of landscape calls for exploring a new dimension of zoonotic disease while developing policy. The All India Tiger Monitoring data 2018 also pointed the high incidence of capture of dog in camera trap across tiger reserves.

As a follow-up and concern to protect the wild carnivore inhabiting the protected area for the first time a state undertook mass dog vaccination in the villages around GIB WLS . Another state which focussed on vaccination drive (although not for wildlife concern) was Sikkim where the SARAH program under “One Health approach” aimed to limit rabies incidences in the state. Apart from vaccination, awareness about feral dog is also promoted.

National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2020, a Government authority responsible for conservation of tiger, developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to manage feral dogs in Tiger reserve. The document suggests feral dog capture and vaccination as control measure while suggesting that the captured animal should not be released back in tiger reserve. However, removal of feral dog from a space is not promoted under the law. In 1998, the Bombay High Court passed a judgement which detailed the manner in which the sterilization program for stray dogs should be carried out with corporation of Government and Civic societies. Animal Birth Control Rules, 2001, states that street dogs are required to be sterilized, vaccinated and after that released into the same area from where they have been captured. The SOP discussed above has a major contradiction with ABC Rules regarding releasing vaccinated feral dog back to the original place (which can be within or in buffer of the Protected Area).

Vaccination has been found to be an effective measure “when removal is not allowed”. The vaccination acts as precaution measure against the zoonotic diseases. But management of Feral dogs’ with this method poses issues as census, vaccination threshold, veterinary capacity and awareness and understanding of law. Awareness regarding law and feral dog management is still treading a thin line as imbibing it within One-Health Strategy across India is at initial stage. Uttarakhand initiated the development and adoption of framework to mitigate the transmission of virus from animal to human (initiative of the union ministry of animal husbandry and dairying (MAHD) and the ministry of fisheries) and hopefully the management of feral dog would be incorporated in the new portfolio of One Health with wider application.

Joining the milestones- I

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India is the second largest road network in the world (after US) with about 63.73 lakh km of road network. The road network also plays an essential contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (around two-thirds of all transport-related contributions to the GDP of India). The National Infrastructure Pipeline project FY 2020-25 calls for the investment of 111 lakh crore INR of which 18 percent is contribution to road network development, approx 23.4 trillion INR. India also ranks third globally in the net gain in average annual forest area between 2010 and 2020. The country’s commitment to increasing forest cover with initiatives like Green India Mission (GIM) has been continuously discussed. With a commitment to increase road network and green cover on the land, it’s eminent that the “twain shall meet“.

In March 2023, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways released a list of initiatives being undertaken for wildlife protection based on the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL). In the press release, the Ministry advised that “the development activities on National Highway passing through wildlife sanctuaries / National parks are generally avoided and wherever possible a bypass/ detour is proposed so that there is the minimum impact of highways on the wildlife habitat. If it is absolutely unavoidable then all necessary clearances required under statutory norms are obtained before any work is undertaken in such areas and measures are undertaken as per the manuals and guidelines of Forest and Wildlife Authorities and relevant IRC codes“. The ministry also advised State and Union territories for “submission of proposals for diversion within the protected areas and Eco-sensitive zones along with animal passage plan prepared on the basis of guidelines prepared by Wildlife Institute of India.

In response to a question in Lok Sabha, Hon. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways presented information on 67 projects where wildlife-friendly structures are being constructed/proposed to be constructed across India. A frequency of the structures presented the following keywords:

While underpasses and elevated roads found prominence in the listed 67 cases, structures to facilitate animals were also highlighted (apart from special mention to elephants and arboreal animals). Structure for elephant movement facilitation was mentioned for National Highway 58 & 72 overlapping Rajaji forests in Uttarakhand. Another case suggested for the elephant pass is in the state of Assam where National Highway 54 is overlapping with Lumding Reserve forests and another site for Dimapur Bypass. The minimum height of the underpass with a viaduct of less than 300m, should be around 6-8m to provide an optimum passage for elephants (WII, 2016).

The monkey ladder is suggested for NH 66 which crosses Konkan region (Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka), and many structures are suggested for animal crossing in this habitat after a detailed survey. Another location where the canopy bridge is suggested is on NH 6 at Gujarat and Maharashtra border, Raipur -Vishakapatnam in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It is also suggested in developing NH 54 across Lumding Reserve in Assam. A canopy bridge is defined as a “rope, pole, rope or wooden ladder, or walkway suspended above the road or railway either from vertical poles or trees and installed for tree-dwelling species”. In 2015, a report on the success of the first canopy bridge for Hainan gibbon in movement across a natural landslide was presented. In India, canopy bridges were constructed for Hoolock Gibbons in Jorhat to provide facilitation for their movement across the railway tracks. Canopy bridges were also constructed in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary for grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) and the tufted gray langur (Semnopithecus priam).

There are many other wildlife-friendly structures are being developed. In the following part series, each of the structures with examples would be discussed. If you have observed or photographed animals using unique wildlife-friendly structures do comment.

Rivers and protection

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Europe had its first wild river national park. Vjosa river flows unimpeded from Albania to the Adriatic Sea for a massive distance. However, in spite of being less populated (compared to India), it took more than a decade to prioritize protection against the lucrative hydropower gold rush. The country recognized that “renewable energy” doesn’t mean you can renew, and regenerate the biodiversity in the catchment of the river and decided that it is of utmost importance to set an example by saving the pristine forest and river landscape along this river.

In the Himalayan district of Uttarakhand (India), there are many rivers arising from the glaciers and flowing downstream to supply water to the various catchment of rivers. Dhauliganga is one such river that is a tributary of the Kali river and flows in Pithoragarh. Pithoragarh is definitely ecological and historically rich but is also sensitive due to its geographic location. The closeness to the Tibet border makes it politically sensitive yet the being majorly in western Himalaya alpine scrub and meadows and Kali basin provide ecological connectivity across borders. The altitudinal variation of the district ranges from 4000m-7000m m covering geographical belts like the Zanskar range, Greater Himalaya, Kali basin, Gori-Ganga basin, and Saryu Ramganga basin. However, being eco-sensitive, both ecologically and topographically, the proposed dams in the region suggest that concerns are probably overlooked. The proposed Pancheshwar dam on the Indo-Nepal border will bring not only be a hindrance to the river flow but also to animal movement and would submerge many villages in the seismicity-susceptible region. This year, residents of Dharchula town in Pithoragarh picked up the protest against Bokong Baling Hydroelectric Project in the Darma valley. The major concern is the submergence of many villages, displacement, and skepticism post-Joshimath crisis. The concerns of residents are based on massive climatic change effects seen in the Himalayas and the natural disasters frequenting in various Himalayan states.

However, what is the difference between Indian rivers and Vjosa conservation? Conserving a river should have been much easier in India where the religious and cultural value of rivers is ingrained in festivals and the livelihood of citizens. But still, river conservation gained attention only when “pollution in the river” is harmful to the health of humans and soil, or the construction of the dam is bringing displacement of people or bringing ecological damage in the region. Concern to clean Ganga started when the first time a fire was detected in the holy river due to pollution and raised concern about the prevention of pollution in the river. Narmada bachao started with human rights that raised with a displacement of villages and then followed by ecological concerns. Tehri Dam protest was also started for the human rights of displaced villages. The protests have always started for human rights and not actually for “the right of the river to free flow”.

Personally, I feel this win of declaring the first “wild river” national park is not limited to just protecting a river. The idea behind the conservation being free flow and wild nature preservation is significant. It’s important to protect and provide a right to live without thinking about its importance on the earth. This protection celebrates the mere existence of the river. It has given a reason to protect other rivers without thinking much about the benefits being provided by the river. The protest against dams in India should not only be about the rights of locals and concern about natural calamity but it should always be combined with the right to the free flow of the river. Wouldnt that concern be primary for the pristine and religious significant river?

Ask questions

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Empowered is probably the most common word to hear during #womensday. Empowered means “authority or power to do something”. For this, I agree with the solution that society is promoting; including more women in the workforce, and in positions of authority. But gender shouldn’t define your right to get a position of authority. It’s your ability to take timely and well-informed decisions. And for that, I feel women should never shy away from asking questions. Questions to understand your path of career, finances, and family life. The pros and cons of a career help you to take a more informed decision as well as be prepared for what you are going to face.

Having been working in a field that was not very common in small-town, I found it difficult to find career guidance at that time. I have been working in forests and wildlife for more than a decade now and hence now many people pose this question of what struggle I faced. I thought since so many women are asking me, #chatgpt must be having enough database to answer too. I wanted to know how my thought would be overlapping with the AI or if it will give me a generalized answer. A few months back I tried to get this “struggle women might face” question (not well-formed but guess it deserves for so many times making me prove I am not a Robot) from the bot and here is what it replied.

The #chatgpt did point out some very relevant cons that any person entering wildlife conservation might face. At the current time, most of the remote areas in forests have electricity due to solar panels and telephone signals are also not very difficult to find. Back in 2009, I remember due to remoteness, I was unable to contact my parents for many days and would design our work schedule according to sunlight. A robot might not be knowing but talking about safety issues inside the jungle is probably linked to his remoteness database. I have worked in various jungles across India, and my personal experience says that compared to cities, jungles are much safer for women. But it’s like the “have faith in God but lock your car” situation also. Inform the authorities of your presence in the jungle, and your survey planning, and work in sync with the department with whom you are working inside the jungle and it’s safe for women and men. The most pertinent point made by AI is the “lack of role models”. Now I wouldn’t say a role model is needed but definitely to prepare yourself for the best performance or as I said to take informed decisions, you need to ask questions. Asking questions about ecology is not a problem. Ecological studies are not gender dependent. But to ask “the usual struggle that I might face being a woman in this career ” can be practically answered by a woman senior and not a male senior. Also, a handful of women entering this field come from various backgrounds like cities, finances, society, etc. The one rule doesn’t apply to all women. Hence I asked another question to chatbot.

This time I agreed with the top options given by the bot. During my Masters, I would return to Prayagraj, which is still quite a big town and educational hub, still, the thought of taking binoculars and going to Sangam for bird count ideas used to astonishment, glare, and discouragement reaction. Back then, the city was not very safe either to go and walk along the river to study habitat. I wanted to learn about wildlife and the environment and bring change in my own town and the state where I had been born and brought up. Not because of sentimental reasons, but to bring the right solution you must know and relate to the problem. A person sitting in Delhi can bring very good plans for a remote town after good research and studies, but if the same person is from that remote town, I feel he/she can do more for the job. Job opportunities and limited community understanding are still a few of the challenges in this field. However, this is true for both genders.

Things are changing and like every field, the wildlife, and environment field is expanding, people are becoming more aware and job opportunities are being created. However, I would like to say that whomever woman is planning to enter this field, Go For It! Ecology and carnivore conservation is fascinating. All women working in this field will vouch for it. It’s worth the challenge. But your situation, your threshold is something you can decide. And for that be informed, ask questions and then accordingly prepare yourself. Nothing is and will ever stop you. But ask questions to make your journey comfortable.

Have fun and celebrate womanhood like we always do. More power.

Where tiger walked along with Sri Ram

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In 2019, the Ministry of Tourism under the Swadesh Darshan scheme developed a thematic circuit – Ramayan Circuit which plans to trace the path taken by Hindu God Ram during his vanvasa. In the current era, the significant Hindu pilgrimage is included in this circuit. See the press release here .

However, like a typical wildlife and tiger lover, I wanted to see the overlap of this circuit with major tiger habitats. The ancient forests must have included much bigger habitats of tigers and other wildlife species. The central Indian landscape was an attraction to Rudyard Kipling to dive himself into conceiving the character of Mowgli. Naturalists like Dunbar Brander and J Forsyth gave us a record of the wildlife of this landscape. Central India included the southern boundary of the state of Uttar Pradesh too which had forests and tiger habitat in earlier times. However, currently, tiger habitat is majorly restricted to terai habitat in Uttar Pradesh.

Tiger reserves like Panna, Kanha, Melghat, Satpuda, Tadoba, and Indravati are some of the earliest tiger reserves which still hold pristine forests and significant archeological sites in the vicinity. Nagarjunasagar Srisailam presents beautiful and unique forests of Nallamalla hills where the tiger has been very smartly avoiding human eyes and enjoying the secluded valley.

The Ramayan circuit proffers the possibility that the Hindu God transversed these forests. As much amazing as the whole thought of God seeing the tigers and enjoying the beauties of ancient forests, it gives us an opportunity in the current time to go and revisit these forests. The tiger reserve not only presents you with the opportunity to see tigers but to actually understand the forests. It is said once you know a thing/person then only you take pain to save it as then you can relate to it. The central Indian forests majorly fall in the Ramayan circuit being exposed to many threats like rapid urbanization, linear infrastructure, drought, and other climatic vulnerability that are causing “fragmentation” of forests. Once you visit these tiger reserves, look around the floral beauty besides faunal. Maybe you will join our cause of “forest connectivity and conservation“. More on these tiger reserves in the next post.

When the forest dress shade of red

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I have seen palash or Flame of forest a lot and when walking in jungle I came across tree with scarlet flower with pointed shape, I would somehow confuse with Palash. People who know Botany would laugh as how can you be confused with any other tree with Flame of forest. Ya I realized I was a late “wildlifer” when I got confused male Koel with Crow !

The Indian Coral tree is called Tiger’s Claw too. It is referred as Mandara in research paper on Indian Vedic scriptures and hence it is called a paradise tree (one of the five tree of Indra garden). The wood of this tree is offered in religious ceremonies in Hawan and flower to Indian God Shiva. While Palash is said to be originated from Yama’s body and sometime myth says its origin is due to fallen feathers of a falcon carrying Somarasa, it has much importance in Hinduism because of its trifoliate leaf. The middle leaf of palash is said to refer to Vishnu , left one as Brahma and right one as Shiva.

Coral tree in Nandhour, Uttarakhand
Parakeet is common sight on Coral tree

Both tree are significant in mythology and culture, but for me looking at the bright flower when its coloring the drab background is more fascinating. When winters starts declining both Flame of Forest and Tiger’s Claw show us somewhat similar color on jungle roof.

Parakeet during feeding on Semul tree in New Delhi. Although a beautiful tree which attract lot of bird, its called yamadruma in sanskrit and is associated with Lord Yama. Does not get very high auspicious place in mythology.
Semul alongwith Palash/ Tesu coloring
Parakeet feeding on Palash flower

A lot of people had been using these flowers in medicine apart from rituals. Apart from the significance in various fields, from a bird lover perspective, whenever you see them flowering do observe for the fluttering beauties. You will get a peace observing someone else doing work in such a lovely environment!

Photo and concept are copyright of author.

COVID infection in Carnivore

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Since the start of the pandemic, reports of Covid infection in big cats in zoos have surfaced. The other carnivores are also reported to be affected by the virus wherein the first case of infection in hyena was reported in Denver Zoo and then in Colorado zoo again, spotted hyena reported COVID. In the US, a report of the death of snow leopard came from Lincoln Children’s Zoo while infection was reported in snow leopards from Louisville and San Diego, and St. Loius Zoos. Spain, Singapore, Estonia, Sweden, India reported of virus in Lion while the US, Indonesia, Sweden reported virus infection in tiger. The white tiger was reported virus positive in Lahore Zoo, Pakistan.

Like humans, the best prevention against the COVID-19 is vaccination, and Russia is claimed to be the first country to develop vaccines for animals. The vaccine is called Karnivak-Kov developed for carnivores after clinical trials on arctic foxes, cats, dogs, and mink. The pandemic has affected greatly the fur industry and mink have been found to be severely infected; a tipping point being mink culling in large numbers in Denmark.

The strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is not only affecting the respiratory system of humans but wild carnivores are susceptible to it too. It’s of a public health concern as the virus is infecting animals through humans. Although these are happening when humans are in close contact with the captive animals and hence is easily controlled by quarantine. The case of COVID-positive animals infecting humans in return is minimalistic. However, the theory that the virus can “jump” from an infected animal to a human is not ruled out and if so happens, it can have serious consequences.

(Author view are not related with any organization)

Forest Education Institutes in India

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The Directorate of Forest Education identifies various institutes for providing training in forestry education. These include Academies as well as accredited institutes as per the Ministry’s website. The Central Academy for State Forest Services at Dehradun, The Central Academy of Forest Education college, Kurseong, CASFOS at Burniaghat and CASFOS at Coimbatore are important training centres for forest officers. Apart from this, the website suggests eight accredited institutes that invest in the education and training of forest officers pan India.

Will the giants meet ?- snow leopard and tiger in Himalayas

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Whenever a researcher meets a non-wildlife researcher , the topic twist and automatically orient itself towards climate change. The coastal metros are getting flooded, flash floods and landslides in mountains and pandemic to add to grievances. Its good that common public is talking about consequences as we see today is because of climate change. The public opinion matters as it is major driver of policy changes and implementation. However, many times the climate change concept turns bizarre when we don’t get the words right and if we don’t get the words right, we can never convince the policymakers. So instead of suggesting that the plains which is now turning so hot that poor tiger it has started moving to colder places and saying that so much landslide and natural calamities that snow leopard is coming down, one should explain the indirect effects on the habitats and sampling design which is highlighting these records of tiger at higher elevation and snow leopard at lower elevation. Climate change is definitely a trigger/ reason for many visible changes observed around us. But how it might be affecting the tigers? The drastic changes in temperature and precipitation in across Himalayas along with land-use changes which is affecting the habitat and especially flora (plants/vegetation). Since forage quality and quantity as well as spatial presence is getting affected it will affect the ungulates AKA prey of predators. Like “No man is an Island” similarly no habitat is independent and exclusive especially in Himalayas where movement of animals is influenced and connected by river system. The change in habitat in one district of Himalayan region will affect a far off district too, perhaps with a gap in time.

Tiger in India is already exploring various habitats which is an example to many south east Asian countries. We have tiger reserves in terai where most of the Himalayan rivers drain and start their journey through plains. We have tiger reserves in dense forest and hilly terrain of north east hills and Western Ghats and Sahyadri’s. Dry areas which are neighbor to deserts and sands in Rajasthan and in mangroves of Sundarban delta. So when the tigers are so well adjusted, its not surprising to talk about “hermit tigers” enjoying the cold hills of Himalayas. We had only 3 tiger states overlapping with Himalayas till some years back and the tiger presence was also recorded in outer Himalayas/ Shiwalikh. The tiger presence was reported but not scientifically recorded in higher reaches of Himalayas.

Throughout tiger states in India, the census for tiger is conducted through cameratraps. The design of survey was such as to maximize the tiger captures and get the other mammals records as “by-product”. But Himalayas presented another stories. Most of the tiger capture in Himalayas were a by-product of another research. Recently in 2020, in Eastern Nepal the tiger was captured in Ilam district while doing survey for red pandashttps://kathmandupost.com/climate-environment/2020/12/11/tiger-spotted-at-a-record-altitude-of-3-165-metres-in-eastern-nepal . But tiger might have been moving vertically and horizontally across the borders of state and countries in Himalayas since long. Being a large sized animal and a hunter which stalks its prey to attack , will it invade territories of snow leopard? I dont think so. Ecologically snow leopard and tiger niche is different. Snow leopard can criss-cross the mountain terrain while pursuing its prey which is next to impossible for large biomass tiger (approx 8 times the size of snow leopard). The areas where tiger and snow leopard might be co-occurring since long might be buffers of treeline.

snow leopard and tiger overlap in Central Himalayas
snow leopard and tiger overlap in eastern Himalayas

The tiger capture 1, 5,6,7 : Status of Tiger Habitats in High Altitude Ecosystems of Bhutan, India and Nepal
(Situation Analysis). Global Tiger Forum. 2019.http://globaltigerforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Final-HAT-VERSION-28-AUGUST-20191.pdf

The tiger capture 2: Bhattacharya, Ankita & Habib, Bilal. (2016). Highest elevation record of tiger presence from India. CATnews. 64. 24.

The tiger capture 3,4: Nepal Forest Department https://kathmandupost.com/climate-environment/2020/04/13/tiger-sighted-at-a-record-altitude-of-2-500-metres-in-dadeldhura-forest

The tiger capture 8: Bhutan Forest Department https://theconversation.com/tall-tales-misrepresent-the-real-story-behind-bhutans-high-altitude-tigers-8963

The tiger capture 9: Gopi, G.V., Q. Qureshi & Y.V. Jhala (2014). A rapid field survey of tigers and prey in Dibang Valley District, Arunachal Pradesh. Technical Report. National Tiger Conservation Authority, New Delhi, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Department of Environment and Forest, Government of Arunachal Pradesh. TR- 2014/001, 32pp.

Although Bhutan had record of tiger at higher elevation since long, the national census revealed that the tiger resides in most of the high altitude protected areas and biological corridors in their country. Post study by Global tiger Forum, Sikkim confirmed to be a new state which has tiger presence. In Uttarakhand tiger presence was mainly recorded in Shiwalik until it was spotted in cameratrap in Askot. The record from kedarnath confirmed the movement of tiger in higher ranges of Himalayas. Nepal had all tiger conservation efforts in terai regions until they got a confirmed record of tiger in eastern and western sides of the country from higher reaches. The connectivity with Uttarakhand and Sikkim for tiger movement cannot be ruled out after this confirmation. In Arunachal Pradesh, Dibang valley has been presenting tiger records till now. However, other unexplored areas might reveal many more records.

The Himalayas which is synonym to snow leopard and wolf when it comes to large predators, is now being understood as provider of path to tiger movement too. This opens new conversation regarding policy affecting larger habitats. The habitat will not restrict adhere to exclusive policies for conserving snow leopard habitat (mainly glaciers and wetland) and for conserving tiger habitat (which was mainly terai). The overlapping ranges bring in new dimensions which insist us to demarcate what we call “Himalayan landscape for carnivore conservation”. From this overlapping range, tiger would travel southward, towards the forests and snow leopard northwards, towards the glaciers. The conservation efforts are highlighting these two species what we call as flagship. To conserve and protect the forests -tiger is the custodian and to conserve high mountain ecosystem and glaciers- snow leopard is the custodian. The two carnivores tiger and snow leopard are the relay racers who are proffering new concepts of Himalayan ecosystem conservation at different cross-sectional levels. If they win, maybe our fight against time to conserve and protect biodiversity hotspots would get a prototype.

The concept and views are personal.

Career in Biodiversity (Part I)

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I loved Zoology but coming from a small town of Uttar Pradesh, I was never exposed to career counselling. So the path I was treading was either Medical or UPSC. But Zoology was where my heart was and more fun/ updated/ application based field I wanted to enter. I wanted to be a writer then was interested in forensic then was interested in bird watching then scientist and sometime research! I didn’t know there was a word called “inter-disciplinary” which allows people from different background investing time, energy and innovation into development of common field. I started from Zoology went for forestry and then Wildlife Sciences. After a decade of working in this field I realized there is so much work which people from different background can help in Biodiversity Management and Conservation. Nature protection is a common passion and need of hour with which everyone can relate to. With climate changing everyday and natural catastrophes knocking on our door, every working individual is investing time and energy to find solution for the pressing issues. All the more reason why we should be updated how every individual can contribute to biodiversity.

A lot of people on LinkedIn ask me I would like to go on this path of nature conservation, guide me where to start. To answer this, I am compiling some background and career paths in the Biodiversity conservation. Although my role is very streamlined with tiger conservation till now, yet I would like to share my network and information about career option in this field. For this, the first goes with background i.e. majorly in which field you have graduated/ post graduated. Many students in class 12th only want to invest in this field. Its a great thing to be directed specifically and passionately in one field but I would personally suggest to start thinking post your graduation. As then you will have exposure for various subjects and you can figure out where your interest and ability lies. As a student , you can be a part of biodiversity and nature campaigns but full fledged career option can be attempted through various interdisciplinary subject expertise in Biodiversity conservation and management.

Inter-disciplinary background requirement for the Biodiversity conservation and Management

Direct fields of masters and graduation in forestry, wildlife sciences, environmental sciences, forensic, earth sciences, anthropology, social sciences, bioinformatics, biochemistry, biotechnology, natural resource management etc. Many university like Allahabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkatta, Lucknow, Banares Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University , North Eastern Hill University and more provide these courses and also private and deemed universities/Colleges like Amity, Government Arts College (Ooty), Manipal university, Dolphin Institute , Forest Research Institute , SHIATS (AAI) and many more are example of colleges which provide basic courses at graduation and post graduation level. the inter-disciplinary subjects which find way into biodiversity management is not only engineering especially related to software and artificial intelligence and GIS but also journalism , filmmaking, art, illustration and graphic design, statistics, architecture, law background.

The specialists of these background find way into biodiversity and wildlife research and conservation. The team is conglomeration of the various subjects where experts enter at different stage of the project execution.

In the next part, I will explain where and how these experts can contribute and career options.