Kushagra M.
Wildlife Biologist

B.Sc. Forestry, H.N.B.G.U., Uttarakhand, 2016 Batch
M.Sc. Wildlife Sciences, Wildlife Institute of India, XVI Batch
PG Diploma in Environmental Law and Policy, National Law University, Delhi, 2023 Batch

Kushagra hails from Bastar, Chhattisgarh. He grew walking in the dense forests of Bastar, catching snakes, birds and dragonflies. Passionate about studying nature, he enrolled to the Forestry(Hons.) programme Of H.N.B.G.U.  He was spear-heading VISION, a student group for wildlife whose efforts with UK forest Dept. helped in bringing down deaths of Vultures due to electrocution. He was selected for the Master’s Programme of the Forest Reasearch Institute, Dehradun in 2016, but later realising his inner calling for wildlife, he left FRI and got through the prestigious Master’s programme of the Wildlife Institute of India in 2017. He  studied Asian Elephants in Surguja, Chhattisgarh as a part of his Master’s dissertation, titled  “Habitat use of Elephants in Mosaic landscape of Northern Chhattisgarh”.  He has a keen interest in ornithology, wildlife history and conservation policies in India. Always up for a discussion on political philosophy and history, he often unwinds through books, country Music and Coffee!

Keshab G.
Wildlife Biologist

B.Sc. Zoology,
M.Sc. Wildlife Science, Wildlife Institute of India, XIV Batch
National Geographic Society Young Explorer
Ph.D Scholar, F.R.I. on Asiatic Lions

Keshab has expertise in animal population estimation techniques and species distribution modelling. He is currently working on human-large carnivore interactions in the Gir landscape of Gujarat as part of his doctoral studies.

Bhavya I.
Wildlife Biologist

M.Sc. Wildlife Sciences, Wildlife Institute of India, XVI Batch

Bhavya lives in Haryana when she’s not travelling to wild places. She received a grant from the Raptor Research and Conservation Fund to study vultures and other vertebrate scavengers in the forests of Central India, and is interested in conservation policy and carnivore behaviour. She enjoys writing about her experiences and hopes to bring people closer to nature and conservation.

Abir J.
Wildlife Biologist

M.Sc. Wildlife Sciences, Wildlife Institute of India, XVI Batch
Ph.D Scholar – Virginia Tech University, USA

Abir is from Indore, and is interested in natural history, tropical ecology and plant-animal interactions. He has worked on seed dispersal ecology in the lowland rainforest fragments of  Upper Assam. He gets easily distracted by butterflies, moths and frogs while walking in the forests.

Doli B.
Wildlife Biologist

M.Sc. Wildlife Sciences, Wildlife Institute of India, XVI Batch
Former Project Manager, Kalahari Meerkat Project (2021-23)

Doli is from Assam and is deeply passionate about understanding animal behaviour, more specifically the functioning of different types of animal societies. She worked on female Asiatic lion to understand their social structure. Currently she is working as a researcher at the Kalahari Meerkat Project and trying to understand different types of behavioual response of Meerkats to certain stimuli and how it influence their stress level. She believes understanding nature is the best way of getting closer to nature.

Jayjit D.
Wildlife Biologist

Integrates BS-MS, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata (IISER-K)
Young India Fellow, Ashoka University
DST-INSPIRE PhD fellow

Born in Bengal and brought up in the lap of the Himalayas (Nepal), Jayjit is an aspiring elephant ecologist. He conducted his MS Thesis on animal behaviour (cognitive abilities of free-ranging dogs). After studying Human – Elephant Conflict in Northern Chhattisgarh, he is currently pursuing his PhD in understanding Human-Elephant Conflict in the Rajaji landscape with the Wildlife Institute of India. He has been part of 6 collaring operations of wild Asian elephants and takes pleasure in understanding the drivers of space-use pattern of these gentle giants.

An avid cricketer (has played in Nepal, India, Germany and the US!) with interests along the spectrum from science to society, he wishes to engage with myriad stakeholders to tackle conservation conundrums.