PIONEER | SEEMA
‘NOTHING IS MORE EXCITING THAN BEING IN THE FIELD’
Conservation scientist Dr. Krithi Karanth on her passion to protect both people and wildlife
ALL PHOTOS CREDIT: CENTRE FOR WILDLIFE STUDIES
JACQUELINE EMIGH
“I
’m pleased to have mentored over 200 young scientists and engaged with 7,500 citizen science volunteers in my research and conservation projects in the last 12 years. I find this process extremely rewarding even though it is a heavy investment of personal time with each individual,” says Dr. Krithi Karanth, chief conservation scientist and executive director at the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) in India. “There is so much potential and so little guidance for people who want to engage fully in wildlife. I feel we can do much more,” she says in an interview with SEEMA.
14 | SEEMA.COM | AUGUST 2021
MULTIPLE CONSERVATION INITIATIVES Karanth oversees the CWS’s conservation, research, education and policy efforts. “I do a lot of public speaking, writing and outreach through several talks every year,” she says. “I also spend a lot of time fundraising and recruiting new staff joining us. We have grown from 16 to 60 people in the 36 months that I have managed CWS.” The conservationist also teaches and mentors students both at Duke University, where she earned her PhD, as well as at the National Center for
