THE CHALLENGE OF CONSERVING LARGE CARNIVORES IN INDIA

CASUAL SEMINAR IN BIODVIERSITY AND EVOLUTION

Despite a population of over 1.35 billion, India still has an almost intact carnivore community. This has largely been possible due to the cultural and religious tolerance towards all forms of life by most Indian communities. In this seminar, I will be following the fate and forecasting the future of two of the most charismatic large carnivores – the tiger and the Asiatic lion. I shall be discussing the status and ecology of other carnivores (wolves, hyenas, and wild dogs) in human dominated landscapes. How these carnivores cope with people, the resulting conflicts and their potential mitigation in a rapidly developing country. With a little sensitivity and marginally lower profits, India’s development can go hand-in-hand with conservation of its natural heritage.

Yadvendradev Jhala is currently a senior professor at the Wildlife Institute of India, a premier Institute of the Government of India responsible for: a) advisory role to the Government, b) technical inputs on wildlife conservation policy and management, c) training park managers, d) conduct of Master’s and Ph.D. programs in wildlife science and e) conduct research in wildlife science and conservation. Jhala got his PhD from Virginia Tech. in 1990 in wildlife science and worked on a blackbuck-wolf system. Subsequently, he worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution and took up an assignment as instructor for the International Course on Wildlife Science & Management conducted by the Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian Institution. He joined the Wildlife Institute of India as a faculty in 1993 and commenced research programs on Indian wolves, Asiatic lions, Tigers, Striped Hyena, Golden Jackal, Snow leopard, and Dhole. He has designed and executed country wide surveys for assessing the status of tigers, other predators, prey and their habitat for the National Tiger Conservation Authority every four years since 2006. Jhala has published several research papers and guided over 50 graduate students.

[Host: Francisco Álvares, Conservation Genetics and Wildlife Management]

Image credits: Yadvendradev V. Jhala