Scientist Profile

By training I am a wildlife biologist (M.Sc Wildlife Science from the Wildlife Institute of India) and my primary interest is in research on lesser known and threatened fauna, their ecology and conservation. Over the last 28 years, I have had the opportunity to work in different landscapes across India starting from the high temperate and alpine reaches of the Himalayas to the coastal and marine areas including the Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. I started my research career with a study on pheasant distributions in the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot in north-east India where I discovered a new subspecies of Sclater’s monal pheasant Lophophorus sclateri. Following which I was involved in carrying out an ecological study on a new species of monkey – the Arunachal macaque Macaca munzala from western Arunachal Pradesh, India. I later moved on to yet another challenging area and subject of study - to determine the offshore distribution of Olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea along the east coast of India. This study involved the use of satellite telemetry to understand the movements and migration of the ridley turtles, and it was the topic of my doctoral research. My seafaring experiences also took me to Antarctica, where as part of the 29th Indian Scientific Expedition I conducted aerial surveys for marine mammals and birds. In recent times, my research has focussed more on tracking fine-scale movements and migration of birds and marine turtles in the Indian region, and along with it the role of the Indian monsoon influencing the movements of species.

In 2008, I joined the Wildlife Institute of India as faculty and along with undertaking research I am also involved in both teaching and training assignments. At present, I also hold the position of Nodal Officer of the Wildlife Institute of India - Category 2 Centre (WII-C2C) for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region, under the auspices of UNESCO.