The Think Wildlife Podcast Anish Banerjee

One of Asia’s most elusive predators is the Clouded Leopard. Until 2006, the term clouded leopard referred to one ubiquitous species found across the Eastern Himalayas, mainland Southeast Asia, and the islands of Borneo and Sumatara. However, extensive genetic analysis of various populations revealed two sister species of clouded leopard. The first is the Mainland Clouded Leopard, distributed discontinuously across the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, South China, and South East Asia. The second species, the Sunda Clouded Leopard, is restricted to rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. Physically, the latter has a darker and smaller cloud pattern than the former.
 Studies suggest that both species diverged relatively recently (in evolutionary terms), approximately 2-0.9 million years ago. This has been attributed to the submergence of the land bridge connecting the Sumatran and Bornean rainforests to mainland Asia, hence resulting in extreme geographic isolation and hence speciation. 
The population of both species has declined significantly below 10,000 individual adults. None of the subpopulations of the two species have more than 1,000 individuals. Consequently, both species have been considered “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List for Threatened Species. Habitat fragmentation, due to unprecedented levels of deforestation, and commercial hunting for the illegal wildlife trade are the primary threats faced by clouded leopards.
In this episode, I speak to Chrishen Gomez, a Ph.D. student at the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. He is currently a part of WildCRU’s Clouded Leopard Programme. Established in 2010, the program has since conducted long-term ecological studies on both species of clouded leopards across their range, with the aim of improving the species conservation. Tune in to learn more about Chrishen’s and WildCRU’s research on Clouded Leopards.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com

The highly biodiverse island Borneo forms one of the largest remaining intact forests of Southeast Asia. Also, the world’s third largest island, Borneo is a stronghold for various charismatic and endangered megafauna species, including orangutans, clouded leopards, elephants, proboscis monkeys and sunbear. 
Unfortunately, the rainforests of south-east Asia, and in particular Borneo,  are under immense pressure. Around 85% of the world’s palm oil and half of the annual global tropical timber is sourced from the Borneon Rainforest, leading to rampant deforestation. Concerningly, the highly destructive “slash and burn” method is utilized extensively by corporations to clear rainforests and peatlands for palm oil plantations. This leads to uncontrollable forest fires, which not only threaten the region’s rich biodiversity but the health of millions of people in the region.
In this episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, I interview Dr. Susan Cheyne to discuss in depth the conservation of Borneo’s mammals. Since 1997,  Susan has conducted extensive research on the region’s biodiversity, with a particular interest in gibbons and clouded leopards. She is also the co-director of Borneo Nature Foundation International, which is spearheading the conservation of the world’s third-largest rainforest. 


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com

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.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com

Dugongs are amongst Asia’s most charismatic marine mammals. The species is often referred to as "sea cows" as their diet predominantly consists of seagrass.  The range of the dugongs is fragmented across the warm coastal waters of the western Pacific Ocean to the eastern coast of Africa. In India, their range extends across the Western and Southern coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago. 
Unfortunately, dugongs are listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List, with their global population declining more than 20% in the last 90 years. Traditional and industrial hunting of dugongs for their meat and oil led to the plummeting of sea cow populations. However, currently, the primary threats faced by dugongs are habitat loss and environmental degradation. Deep-sea mining, trawling, and land reclamation degrade seagrass meadows by increasing sedimentation and hence reducing exposure to light. Pollution, in the form of sewage, heavy metals waste, and herbicides further destroys seagrass meadows. While not quantified,  industrial fishing is also a massive threat as dugongs regularly succumb as bycatch following entanglement in fishing nets.
In this episode, Elrika D’Souza, one of India’s leading marine biologists, elaborates on her dugong and seagrass conservation work at the Nature Conservation Foundation. Tune in to listen more!



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com

India is a wildlife paradise. Despite being the largest democracy and fastest-growing economy in the world, wildlife has recovered throughout the country. From tigers of Madhya Pradesh to hornbills and Amur falcons of Nagaland and the lions of Gujarat, India is home to conservation miracles.  Capturing these stories is RoundGlass Sustain. With the aim of becoming an encyclopedia of India’s wildlife, RoundglassSustain utilized stories, videos, infographics, and humor to highlight India’s biodiversity, habitats, and conservation. RoundGlass Sustain captures some of the most inspiring conservation stories, from the Great Indian Bustard to the One Horned Rhino. They also aptly decipher complicated conservation issues, such as human-wildlife conflict and climate change. In this episode, I interview Sunny Gurpreet Singh, the founder of RoundGlass, and  Neha Dara, the business head of RoundGlass Sustain.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com

The Markhor is one of Central and South Asia's most charismatic mountain ungulates. The species is scattered across the Karakoram Range, Afghanistan, and the western Himalayas. The Markhor, often called the “Screw-horned Goat” is the national animal of Pakistan.  In Persian and Pahto languages, the word “mārkhor” translates as "snake-eater" highlighting the ancient belief that the markhor would actively kill and consume snakes.
The Markhor is currently listed as “Near Threatened” by the IUCN Red List. Across its range, hunting is the primary threat to the Markhor.  In Pakistan, the Markhor falls victim to the lucrative trophy hunting business. Meanwhile, the hunting of markhor for bushmeat and traditional beliefs is still prevalent in Afghanistan and India, despite such practices being banned. In India, habitat loss and fragmentation due to climate change and livestock overgazing remain a major threat. LIke most mountain ungulates in the Himalayas, the markhor is not spared from the free-ranging dog menace in India.
In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, Tanushree Srivastava and I discuss Markhor conservation in Kashmir. Tanushree, who is one of the leading scientists researching Himalaya’s ungulates, also spearheads Wildlife Trust of India’s  “ Kashmir Markhor Recovery Project”.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit anishbanerjee.substack.com