The Eastern Ghats is amongst the most biodiverse regions in India. This discontinuous mountain range is spread predominantly across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Karnataka. A study conducted by ATREE found over 200 species of birds in the Eastern Ghats, which includes the endemic Jerdon’s Courser. The region also has healthy populations of elephants, gaur, blackbuck, leopards and wolves, alongside various small mammal species. Around 400 tigers are found in the region.
Unfortunately, only a very small portion of the Eastern Ghats landscape is classified as a protected area, making the region vulnerable to rapid land cover change. Other than rampant habitat loss, hunting and the illegal wildlife trade threatens the fauna of the region.
In this episode, I interview Dr. Vikram Aditya who has worked extensively on the conservation of the mammals of the Eastern Ghats. He is currently a Principal Scientist at the Centre for Wildlife Studies and spearheads their Wildlife Hunting and Trade program. Currently, the program operates solely in the Eastern Ghats, to study how hunting pressure and illegal wildlife trade is impacting wildlife in the region.
Episode 58: Creating a Future for Clouded Leopards with Chrishen Gomez, DPhil Student, WildCRU, University of Oxford
Episode 57: Exploring the Conservation of Borneo’s Primates and Felines with Susan Cheyne, Borneo Nature Foundation International
Episode 55: Reviving India’s Seagrass Meadows for Dugong Conservation with Elrika D’Souza from Nature Conservation Foundation
Episode 54: Creating an Encyclopedia of India’s Wildlife with RoundGlass Sustain
Episode 53: Bringing back the Markhor with Tanushree Srivastava from Wildlife Trust of India
Episode 52: Understanding Amphibian Conservation and the IUCN Red List with Dr. Sanjay Molur, Founder of Zoo Outreach Organization
Episode 51: Conserving India’s Wildlife through Nature Writing with Neha Sinha
Episode 50: Tackling human-wildlife conflict in the Western Ghats with Dr. Sanjay Gubbi, Wildlife Biologist
Episode 49: Conserving Gujarat’s Sloth Bears with Nishith Dharaiya, Founder of WCB Research Foundation
Episode 48: The Growing Challenges of Human Carnivore Conflict with Dr. Andrew Stein, Founder and Director of CLAW Conservancies
Episode 47: Rewilding Scotland with Peter Cairns, Executive Director, SCOTLAND: The Big Picture
Episode 46: Protecting Rainforests with Bioacoustics and Artifical Intelligence with Bourhan Yassin, Founder of Rainforest Connection
Episode 45: Uncovering India’s Free Ranging Dog Problem with Chandrima Home
Episode 44: Saving Gorillas, Elephants and Marine Turtles with Adam Henson, Wild Earth Allies
Episode 43: Protecting Asia's Rhinos with Markus Hofmeyr, Director of the Rhino Recovery Fund
Episode 42: Conserving Arctic's Polar Bear with Krista Wright, Executive Director, Polar Bears International
Episode 41: Painting a Bright Future for Africa's Wild Dogs with Gregory Rasmussen, Founder of Painted Dog Research Trust
Episode 40: How do we restore the world's forests?
Episode 39: Creating a future for the Iranian Cheetah with Morteza Pourmirzai, CEO at Iranian Cheetah Society
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