From tigers, elephants, snow leopards and rhinos to frogs, snakes, birds and bugs, the many conservation success stories of India resonated in London with a special session with wildlife experts this week.
Surya Ramachandran and David Raju, friends and co-authors, shared their first-hand experiences of working in the close proximity of wild and some not-so-wild creatures in some of the remotest parts of India. Organised by the High Commission of India in London with tour operator TransIndus, the event attempted to spotlight the lesser-known conservation hubs of India that may yet be off the beaten trail for many international tourists.
Ramachandran shared: “We are naturalists, so what we do ultimately as wildlife guides is we try to be curious, we try to simplify and break down information and keep people engaged and connected to the environment.
“We cannot have any conversation about conservation in India without speaking about the tigers, the Bengal Tiger, which India has kind of centred its conservation story around. India is the only place where we have a healthy population, that's growing.”
The wildlife guide, naturalist, and expedition leader highlighted some little-known facts about wildlife in India, including that the country is home to 16 species of wild cats as compared to 10 in the whole continent of Africa.
“That's an impressive fact, which shows how much diversity in habitat, how much diversity in altitude, diversity in the kind of landscape that we house within this country of ours. It is quite incredible,” he added.
Currently living in the Nilgiris in the Western Ghats of southern India, Ramachandran shared his own habitat in the wilderness which he says allows for incredible walks and bike rides and, of course, great wildlife viewing including an adorable leopard family in his backyard.
Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said the event was a way to tap into the true potential of conservation tourism in the years ahead and highlight the many success stories from different corners of India.
*Info: Surya Ramadhandran; David Raju
MORE LIKE THIS…
