Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India.
+91-0135-2646146
sanath [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in
About
I am a Wildlife Health Professional with a strong interest in applying interdisciplinary tools to advance conservation medicine. I have led, and continue to lead, the veterinary component of the Reintroduction of Cheetah to India project as the Nodal Veterinary Officer for the National Tiger Conservation Authority. I have also contributed to numerous ecological and conservation initiatives of the Wildlife Institute of India, primarily by providing veterinary expertise for wildlife capture, immobilization, and telemetry operations.
I have previously held senior scientific and veterinary positions with the Wildlife Institute of India and Virginia Tech, USA, where my work encompassed wildlife capture and restraint, population management, immunocontraception research, rescue and rehabilitation, and capacity building through teaching and training programmes in India and Southern Africa. My professional interests lie in integrating wildlife health, conservation management, and One Health approaches to support evidence-based conservation outcomes.
Academic Positions
December, 2025 - Present : Scientist C, Wildlife Institute of India
June, 2022 – November, 2025 : Veterinary Officer, National Zoological Park, MoEFCC
June, 2018 – May, 2022 : Project Scientist III, Wildlife Institute of India
March, 2017 – April, 2018: Programme Manager and Senior Center Veterinarian, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, USA
January, 2015 – February, 2017 : Project Veterinarian, Wildlife Institute of India
September 2011 – October, 2013 : Graduate Assistant, Bangalore Veterinary College
Education
Bachelors in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry (BVSc & AH) form Bangalore Veterinary College, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University
Masters in Veterinary Science (MVSc) with Wildlife Science as major, form Bangalore Veterinary College, Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University
Masters (MSc) in One Health from University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
PGC in Care and Conservation of Aquatic Animals Certificate, University of Florida
Research Interest
Wild animal capture
Wildlife Health
Population management
Wildlife Translocation and Reintroduction
Wildlife disease surveillance and monitoring
One Health
Publications
Boora, D., Singh, S., Kawlni, L., Muliya, S.K., Hussain, K.,Uniyal, V.P., Qureshi, Q. and Kolipakam, V., 2026. Two novel species-specific mitochondrial markers for non-invasive identification of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Molecular Biology Reports, 53(1), p.140.
Muliya, S.K., Kolipakam, V., Pandey, R.K., Sharma, S., Pushkar, K., Kuttappa, T.C., Manjunath, C.C., Bindhani, U.T., Kawlni, L., Tiwari, V.R. and Qureshi, Q., 2025. Satellite-telemetry and mass communication based early warning system for human-elephant coexistence in Southern India’s agroforestry landscapes. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 6, p.1640741.
Kolipakam, V., Matta, H., Muliya, S.K., Markad, M.V., Kawlni, L., Kumar, U., Pant, B., Sharma, S., Mondol, S., Pandey, R.K. and Qureshi, Q., 2025. Estimating asian elephant abundance: a comparative analysis of dung counts and genetic SECR in a known population of Kodagu, Karnataka, India. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 25(1), p.106.
Muliya, S.K., Bindhani, U.T., Kawlni, L., Ramakrishna, A.K., Mirza, V., Rahman, M.U., Kumar, V., Huchhaiah, R., Kuttappa, T.C., Sharma, S. and Hussain, K., 2025. Reference intervals for hematology, serum biochemistry and blood gas parameters in Indian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) under human care. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 12, p.1602296.
Muliya, S.K., Mathur, V.C., Singh, H., Kumar, A., Kumar, S. and Bhardwaj, G.S., 2025. Beyond rhetoric: debunking myths and misinformation on India’s Project Cheetah. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 6, p.1605871.
Bindhani, U.T., Muliya, S.K., Kawlni, L., Kolipakam, V., Hussain, K. and Qureshi, Q., 2025. Simians amidst sapiens: Ranging patterns and movement strategy of synanthropic rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in Northern India. International Journal of Primatology, pp.1-26.
Muliya, S.K., Kawlni, L., Lalhnuna, J., Kolipakam, V., Gogoi, A. and Qureshi, Q., 2025. Chemical Immobilization of Red Serows (Capricornisrubidus) with Ketamine and Medetomidine. The Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 61(3), pp.782-786.
Tordiffe,A.S.W., Muliya, S.K., Basto,A., Schmidt-Küntzel, A…Marker, L.,& Jhala, Y. V. 2021. Disease Risk Analysis for Introduction of Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) to India. ISBN.: 81-85496-79-X.
Jhala,Y.V.,Ranjitsinh,M.K.,Bipin,C.M.,Yadav,S.P.,KumarAlok,MallickAmit,Chouhan,J.S.,Garawad, R, Ninama, C.S., Verma, P.K., Jhala, H., Bandyopadhyay, K., Sarkar, M., Sultan, Sen, P., Rautela, N., Singanjude, M., Sharma, S., Choudhary, P., Saraswat, M., Jain, A., Patel, K., Jain, D, Banerjee, K., Muliya, S.K., & Qureshi, Q. (2021). Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India. Wildlife Institute of India, National Tiger Conservation Authority and Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. ISBN: 81-85496-65-X.
Muliya, S.K., Nath, A., Kumar, G.C., Visvanathan, A., Selvan, M., Gowda, R., Santra, V. and Das, A., 2021. Addressing Wallacean shortfall using small sampling approach: a case study with endemic Lycodon flavicollis (Squamata: Colubridae) Mukherjee & Bhupathy, 2007. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity, 14(2), pp.159-168.
Muliya, S.K. 2019. Rhesus Macaquescapture Procedures. In QureshiQ.(ed). Reference Manual for Rhesus Macaque Reproductive Sterilization. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. ISBN: 81-85496-53-6.
Nath, A., Das, A., Sutradhar, S., Barman, D., Chakdar, B., Muliya, S.K. and Kumar, G.C., 2019. New distribution records of Daboia russelii (Shaw & Nodder, 1797), in the Northeast of India, with notes on envenomation. Herpetozoa, 31(3-4), pp.145-156.
Shanmugam, A.A., Muliya, S.K., Deshmukh, A., Suresh, S., Nath, A., Kalaignan, P., Venkataravanappa, M. and Jose, L., 2017. Baseline hematology and serum biochemistry results for Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca). Veterinary World, 10(7), p.818.
Muliya, S.K., Amin, S.,Manjunath, M.,Srivastav, A.,Shrivastav, A.B.,Malik, P.K.andNigam, P.2017. Heamato-Bio chemical evaluation in reptiles.In Shrivastav,A.B.(ed).Indian Wild life Year Book Vo l13- 14. Indian association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians.p26-37.
Muliya, S.K., Shanmugam, A.A., Kalaignan, P., Antony, L., Chandranpillai, H. and Jaisingh, N., 2016. Chemical immobilisation of dhole (Cuon alpinus), Indian jackal (Canis aureus indicus) and Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) with ketamine hydrochloride–xylazine hydrochloride. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 2(3), pp.221-225.
Arun, A.S., Muliya S.K., Antony, L., Pillai, H.C., Venkataramanappa, M. and Suresh, S., 2016. Effective Reversible Immobilization of Captive Himalayan Black Bears (Selenarctos thibetanus laniger) with Medetomidine-Tiletamine-Zolazepam and Atipamezole. Journal of wildlife diseases, 52(2): 400-402.
Srivastav, A., Muliya S.K.,and Nigam, P. 2016. Handling, Care and Management of Reptiles.In SK. Dutta, Vasudevan, KandDasA(eds.).Manual on Herpetology. Third DST-SERB School in Herpetology. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. p177.
Dr. Sanath Krishna Muliya
Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India.
+91-0135-2646146
sanath [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in