K Ullas Karanth
Wildlife Conservation Society, Bengaluru
K Ullas Karanth, originally trained as an engineer, in order to pursue his deep passion for wildlife, started studying tiger ecology in India, obtaining his Master’s Degree from University of Florida, USA (1988) and PhD from Mangalore University, India (1993). He is the Director for Science-Asia at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), as well as an adjunct professor at NCBS-TIFR and Manipal University. Karanth has worked extensively on tiger and prey ecology, and has published over 150 scientific papers and several books including The Way of the Tiger, A View from the Machan and Science of Saving Tigers. His areas of interest are carnivore ecology, modelling of wildlife populations, and conservation policy and advocacy. Karanth was elected Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences in 2008. He was awarded the Sierra Club’s International Earth Care Award in 2006, WWFs J. Paul Getty Award in 2007 and Bombay Natural History Society’s Salim Ali Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2009. He is also a recipient of the Rajyothsava Award of the Government of Karnataka in 2010 and the Padmashree in 2012.
Session 1A – Special Lecture
Chairperson: Madhav Gadgil, National Center for Cell Science, Pune
Conservation science at macro-ecological scales View Presentation
Gaining a deeper understanding of ecological patterns and processes at the macro-ecological scale – over large areas and across long time spans – is central to the effective practice of biological conservation and endangered species recovery. Although the practice of such, much-needed conservation science offers exciting opportunities in India, it also faces serious challenges. These challenges can be scientific, technical or logistical, and often, systemic social ones. Using examples from his three decades of ecological research on India’s national animal – the tiger, the speaker will explore possible solutions for some of these challenges.