Profile

I am a conservation biologist with an affinity for crocodilians and rivers. My work has largely focused on understanding the conservation needs of gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in North-Central India, particularly along the Chambal, Son and Gandak Rivers. I am also interested in human-wildlife interactions, conservation philosophy, policy, and the human impacts on wildlife and ecosystems.

I’ve been interested in wildlife and wild places ever since I can remember, and my first chance at being able to work with wildlife came immediately after high school. I opted out of formal education and spent the next three or so years as a wildlife rescue-and-rehabilitation volunteer, and monitoring wildlife crime — the pet trade, wild meat, performance animals, quackery and ritual hunting. An accident forced me back into higher secondary school which, luckily, was The Valley School — a wooded campus adjacent to a Reserved Forest. I completed my graduation through open-university whilst still staying involved with conservation-related work, and a M.Sc. in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, soon after, helped pursue a career in conservation biology.