The Think Wildlife Podcast

The Think Wildlife Podcast

Every Monday, join our hosts, Anish Banerjee, as he speaks with renowned conservationists from around the world, dissecting some of the most pressing and intricate challenges threatening wildlife. anishbanerjee.substack.com

  1. 4D AGO

    S4|EP18 - Saving East Kolkata's Urban Wetlands and Avifaunal Diversity with Nibedita Chakraborty

    In this deeply informative episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee is joined by Nibedita Chakraborty, a wildlife and biodiversity researcher whose work focuses on wetlands, urbanization, and citizen science. The conversation centres on the East Kolkata Wetlands, one of India’s most important urban wetlands, and uses this globally significant landscape to explore broader questions of wetland conservation, urban biodiversity, and climate change. The East Kolkata Wetlands represent a rare example of an urban wetland system that continues to deliver critical ecological, social, and economic services despite intense development pressure. Spanning over 12,500 hectares, these wetlands function as a natural wastewater treatment system, support fisheries and agriculture, reduce flood risk, and sustain exceptional wetland biodiversity. Nibedita explains why this mosaic of sewage-fed fish ponds, croplands, and open water bodies is recognised as a Ramsar site of international importance, and why its survival is inseparable from the future of urban conservation in India. A major focus of the episode is avifaunal diversity and how bird communities respond to rapid urbanization. Drawing on extensive field surveys, Nibedita describes how different bird groups use core wetlands, transitional zones, and urban sprawls in distinct ways. As urban expansion accelerates, foraging grounds shrink, water quality declines due to wetland pollution, and migratory birds are increasingly absent from areas where they were once abundant. These changes offer powerful indicators of ecosystem stress and reveal how urban wetland biodiversity is being reshaped in real time. The discussion also highlights the role of climate change in amplifying existing threats to wetlands. Altered rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and increased eutrophication interact with urban pressures to further destabilize wetland ecosystems. Nibedita explains how long-term monitoring of wetlands and birds is essential to understanding these combined impacts and designing effective urban wetland conservation strategies that can withstand future climatic uncertainty. Citizen science emerges as a central theme in the conversation. Platforms such as eBird and iNaturalist have become invaluable tools for tracking wetland biodiversity, supporting birding communities, and generating data at spatial and temporal scales that traditional research alone cannot achieve. By involving local communities, birders, and residents, citizen science strengthens urban wetland biodiversity conservation while fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility for these ecosystems. This episode offers a compelling case for why wetlands must be central to discussions on urban biodiversity, climate change, and sustainable city planning. It is essential listening for anyone interested in wetlands, wetland conservation, urban wetlands, avifaunal diversity, birding, and the future of urban conservation in a rapidly urbanizing world. #wetlands #wetlandconservation #wetlandbiodiversity #urbanbiodiversity #urbanconservation #urbanwetlands #urbanwetlandconservation #urbandwetlandbiodiversity #urbanwetlandbiodiversityconservation #climatechange #avifaunaldiversity #birding #wetlandpollution Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    33 min
  2. FEB 6

    S4|EP17 - Conserving Nepal's Biodiversity Hotspots with the Nature Conservation and Study Centre

    In this episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee is joined by Nishan Limbu, Tujin Rai, and Nischal Kunwar from the Nature Conservation and Study Centre for a wide-ranging conversation on youth-led wildlife conservation and biodiversity research in Nepal’s Himalayan landscapes. Rather than focusing on a single species, this episode explores how grassroots conservation initiatives in Nepal are addressing the needs of multiple threatened taxa, including the Asiatic Black Bear, pangolins, small carnivores, pollinators, turtles, and forest-dependent mammals. Together, these species represent the ecological complexity of Nepal’s biodiversity hotspot, where conservation challenges are deeply intertwined with community livelihoods, land-use change, and human–wildlife interactions. A major part of the discussion centres on the Asiatic Black Bear, a wide-ranging species increasingly coming into conflict with people in Nepal’s mid-hills and forested regions. The guests describe how bear conservation efforts combine camera trapping, rapid biodiversity assessments, and community interviews to identify key habitats and conflict zones. These methods are part of a broader conservation research framework that prioritizes coexistence and evidence-based wildlife conservation rather than enforcement-only approaches. The conversation then expands to other species under threat. Pangolins emerge as one of the most elusive and heavily trafficked mammals in the region, requiring both biodiversity research and strong community engagement to improve detection and protection. Small carnivores and lesser-known mammals are discussed as overlooked components of biodiversity conservation, despite their critical ecological roles. The episode also highlights pollinator conservation through citizen-science initiatives, demonstrating how biodiversity research can be democratized and scaled through local participation. Across all these projects, the Nature Conservation and Study Centre’s approach emphasizes capacity building, youth leadership, and community ownership. By training community forest user groups to deploy camera traps, monitor wildlife, and interpret results, the organization is helping shift conservation from externally driven projects to locally sustained action. This model strengthens biodiversity conservation outcomes while fostering long-term stewardship in Nepal’s rural landscapes. The guests also reflect candidly on the challenges faced by early-career conservationists, including limited funding, lack of training opportunities, and resistance from communities affected by human–wildlife conflict. Yet the episode remains hopeful, showing how collaboration, persistence, and grounded conservation research can generate meaningful change. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in bear conservation, Asiatic Black Bears, pangolins, wildlife conservation, biodiversity research, and the future of youth-led conservation in Nepal and the Himalayas. It offers a holistic view of how protecting biodiversity requires working across species, ecosystems, and communities simultaneously. #bear #bearconservation #AsiaticBlackBear #conservation #wildlifeconservation #biodiversityhotspot #conservationresearch #biodiversityresearch #biodiversityconservation #biodiversity #communitybasedconservation #communityconservation Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    31 min
  3. JAN 29

    S4|EP14 - Balancing Development and Snow Leopard Conservation in Pakistan's Mountain Ecosystems with Hamza Butt

    In this in-depth episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Hamza Butt, about one of the most urgent yet under-discussed challenges facing conservation today: how to reconcile development with the protection of fragile mountain ecosystems. Hamza’s work sits at the intersection of sustainable linear infrastructure, biodiversity conservation, and climate policy. Drawing on his experience in Pakistan and across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, he explains how roads, railways, pipelines, and other forms of linear infrastructure can fragment habitats, disrupt ecological connectivity, and intensify human-wildlife conflict. For wide-ranging species like the snow leopard, even a single road can sever movement routes across vast mountain landscapes, increasing mortality risks and altering behaviour in ways that cascade across entire ecosystems. The conversation delves deeply into snow leopard conservation and the realities facing mountain biodiversity in Pakistan. With fewer than 200 snow leopards estimated to remain in the country, pressures from climate change, infrastructure expansion, and habitat loss are converging at unprecedented speed. Hamza describes how shrinking prey bases and degraded habitats push snow leopards closer to human settlements, leading to retaliatory killings and escalating conflict. These dynamics make snow leopard conservation inseparable from broader questions of mountain ecology, livelihoods, and equitable development. A central theme of the episode is how sustainable linear infrastructure can be planned differently. Hamza outlines how evidence-based decision-making, robust environmental impact assessments, and the mitigation hierarchy can help avoid, reduce, and offset ecological damage. From wildlife crossings and noise reduction to strategic route planning, he explains how infrastructure can coexist with mountain biodiversity conservation when guided by data rather than box-ticking exercises. Listeners will also gain insight into global policy processes, including how international guidance on infrastructure and biodiversity is translated into national action. Hamza reflects on the challenges of working in data-poor regions, the risks of poorly designed EIAs, and the importance of aligning climate change responses with biodiversity conservation goals. Throughout the episode, mountain conservation emerges not as a niche concern, but as a frontline issue for sustainable development in a warming world. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in snow leopard conservation, sustainable linear infrastructure, mountain biodiversity, human wildlife conflict, and the future of biodiversity conservation in high-altitude ecosystems under climate change pressure. #sustainablelinearinfrastructure #linearinfrastructure #snowleopard #snowleopardconservation #mountainbiodiversity #mountainconservation #mountainbiodiversityconservation #humanwildlifeconflict #climatechange #biodiversityconservation #mountainecology Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    26 min
  4. JAN 23

    S4|EP15 Restoring Elephant Corridors in West Bengal through Community-Based Conservation with Divya Banerjee

    In this episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee is joined by Divya Banerjee, founder of Uttarayan Wildlife, for a deeply grounded conversation on elephants, people, and landscapes in eastern India. Drawing on years of frontline conservation experience, Divya shares how elephant conservation in human-dominated regions is inseparable from social justice, livelihoods, and long-term ecosystem recovery. The episode focuses on Asiatic elephants and the rapidly disappearing elephant corridors of southern West Bengal. These corridors once enabled seasonal movement between forests across Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bengal, but today they are heavily fragmented by deforestation, monocropping, and infrastructure expansion. As these wildlife corridors collapse, conflict escalates, placing immense pressure on both elephants and marginal farming communities. Divya explains why elephant corridor conservation is not simply about protecting space, but about restoring ecological functionality across entire landscapes. A major theme of the conversation is ecosystem degradation and its cascading effects. Loss of forest cover, depletion of topsoil, water scarcity, and chemical-intensive agriculture have transformed once-diverse habitats into arid, unproductive land. Divya outlines how ecosystem restoration begins from the ground up, starting with soil regeneration, water retention, and the reintroduction of native plant species. These efforts are critical not only for Asiatic Elephant conservation but also for rebuilding biodiversity and ecological resilience. The episode offers a rare, practical look at community-based conservation in action. Divya describes how local farmers are central to every stage of the work, from nursery management and plantation maintenance to alternative livelihoods such as vermicomposting and beekeeping. These initiatives strengthen local economies while supporting biodiversity conservation and biodiversity management, demonstrating that wildlife conservation is most effective when communities are genuine partners rather than passive stakeholders. This conversation highlights the realities of conserving elephants outside protected areas, the challenges of restoring wildlife corridors in working landscapes, and the long-term commitment required to reverse ecosystem degradation. It is essential listening for anyone interested in elephant conservation, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, and people-centred approaches to conservation in India. #elephants #elephantcorridor #elephantcorridorconservation #elephantconservation #Asiaticelephants #asiaticelephantconservation #wildlifecorridor #wildlifeconservation #biodiversityconservation #biodiversitymanagement #biodiversity #ecosystemdegradation #ecosystemrestoration #communitybasedconservation Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    28 min
  5. JAN 16

    S4|EP14 - Conserving The Last Vulture with Nitish Agrawal

    In this thought-provoking episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee is joined by Nitish Agrawal, founder of The Last Vulture, to unpack one of the most urgent yet overlooked stories in Indian biodiversity: the vulture crisis and its far-reaching ecological and public health consequences. Vultures are keystone species and irreplaceable scavengers, playing a critical role in maintaining ecosystem balance by rapidly removing animal carcasses from the landscape. Nitish explains how the catastrophic collapse of vulture populations across India triggered an ecological crisis with cascading impacts on public health, feral dog populations, disease transmission, and rural livelihoods. Once abundant across biodiversity hotspots of the subcontinent, vultures have declined by over 95 percent in many regions, making the vulture crisis one of the fastest population crashes of any bird group in history. The conversation explores vulture conservation not only as a species-focused intervention, but as a lens to understand biodiversity management and systemic failure. Nitish highlights how pharmaceutical contamination, policy blind spots, and lack of public awareness accelerated this biodiversity crisis, while also reflecting on why vultures suffer from a severe cultural stigma despite their ecological importance. Through the idea of “vulture culture,” he argues that conservation success depends on reshaping how society perceives scavengers, death, and ecosystem services. A major focus of the episode is vulture rewilding and rethinking rewilding more broadly in human-dominated landscapes. Nitish discusses how and community-based conservation are essential for restoring vulture populations, particularly around carcass availability, safe food zones, and coexistence with pastoral communities. These efforts demonstrate how biodiversity conservation can succeed when local people are active partners rather than passive stakeholders. The episode also delves into innovative approaches linking conservation with livelihoods, including safaris, walking safaris, and low-impact conservation tourism. Nitish explains how sustainable tourism, biodiversity tourism, and ethical wildlife experiences can create economic incentives for protecting threatened species while deepening public engagement with Indian biodiversity. Rather than spectacle-driven wildlife tourism, these models emphasize learning, interpretation, and long-term stewardship. This conversation offers a powerful reminder that saving vultures is about far more than birds alone. It is about restoring ecological function, safeguarding public health, addressing the biodiversity crisis, and reimagining how conservation, culture, and communities intersect in modern India. Essential listening for anyone interested in vulture conservation, rewilding, biodiversity hotspots, and the future of conservation tourism in India. #vulture #vultureconservation #vultureculture #keystonespecies #scavenger #ecologicalcrisis #publichealth #vulturecrisis #vulturerewilding #rewilding #communityconservation #communitybasedconservation #biodiversitycrisis #biodiversity #biodiversityconservation #biodiversityhotspot #biodiversitymanagement #Indianbiodiversity #safaris #walkingsafaris #sustainabletourism #conservationtourism #biodiversitytourism Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    23 min
  6. JAN 7

    S4|EP13 - Conserving Wild Karnataka's Wolves in the Grasslands of Koppal

    In this compelling episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Indrajit Ghorpade, founder of the Deccan Conservation Foundation, about wolf conservation in the Koppal District of Karnataka and the overlooked biodiversity of the Deccan Plateau. The conversation offers a rare, ground-level perspective on the Indian wolf and the urgent need to rethink how India approaches grassland conservation and biodiversity management outside forested landscapes. Koppal District, located in the Deccan Plateau, represents one of the last strongholds of the Indian wolf, a subspecies of the gray wolf uniquely adapted to India’s arid and semi-arid grasslands. Often misunderstood and neglected, the Indian wolf has survived for centuries in human-dominated landscapes shaped by pastoralism and dryland agriculture. Indrajit explains how wolf conservation in this region is inseparable from protecting grassland ecosystems that are routinely misclassified as wastelands, despite supporting exceptional grassland biodiversity. The episode explores the ecological importance of open grasslands for species such as wolves, blackbucks, foxes, hyenas, and ground-nesting birds, and why the loss of these habitats has driven widespread declines across Indian biodiversity. Indrajit reflects on how tiger-centric conservation narratives have overshadowed species like the Indian wolf, leading to gaps in policy, funding, and public awareness. Through years of fieldwork, research, and advocacy, his work has helped establish India’s second wolf sanctuary at Bankapur, demonstrating that targeted protection can make a measurable difference even in fragmented landscapes. A key theme of the discussion is coexistence. Wolves in Koppal largely survive outside protected areas, navigating livestock grazing, agriculture, roads, and renewable energy infrastructure. Indrajit unpacks the realities of human–wolf interactions, the role of free-ranging dogs, hybridization concerns, and the importance of education in reducing conflict. Rather than portraying wolves as threats, the episode reframes them as keystone predators essential for regulating ecosystems and sustaining long-term biodiversity conservation. Listeners will gain insight into why grassland conservation is central to the future of Karnataka biodiversity and the biodiversity of India more broadly. From blackbucks roaming open plains to wolves using rocky outcrops as breeding refuges, the episode highlights how wild Karnataka extends far beyond forests and protected reserves. This conversation is essential listening for anyone interested in wolf conservation, Indian wolf conservation, gray wolf conservation, grassland biodiversity, and the future of biodiversity management in India’s most neglected ecosystems. #wolf #wolfconservation #IndianWolf #Indianwolfconservation #graywolf #graywolfconservation #grassland #grasslandconservation #biodiversityconservation #biodiversitymanagement #Indianbiodiversity #grasslandbiodiversity #blackbucks #wildKarnataka #Karnatakabiodiversity #biodiversityofKarnataka #biodiversityofIndia Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    56 min
  7. 12/27/2025

    S3|EP12 ~ Restoring India’s Oceans through Artificial Reefs for Marine Biodiversity Conservation with Oishinee Chakraborty

    India’s coastal waters hold immense promise—and growing peril. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Oishinee Chakraborty from the Kuddle Life Foundation, a young organization redefining marine conservation in Pondicherry through science, community collaboration, and artificial reefs. Oishinee introduces listeners to the Foundation’s origins—founded in 2020 by Punit Dhandhania and Hans Dhandhania, who transformed a small circle of ocean enthusiasts into a leading grassroots force for marine ecology and biodiversity conservation. With limited institutions working on ocean protection in southern India, Kuddle Life fills a critical gap by creating local, science-driven projects that link marine ecosystems, coastal livelihoods, and sustainable development. At the heart of their work lies the artificial reef program—a groundbreaking effort to restore degraded marine ecosystems and revive marine biodiversity. Oishinee explains that space is the ocean’s most limiting factor, and artificial reefs—built using eco-friendly materials like concrete and steel—mimic the natural hard surfaces that corals, sponges, and fish larvae need to attach, grow, and form thriving underwater communities. These structures replicate some functions of natural coral reefs, acting as catalysts for marine biodiversity management and ecosystem recovery. The process of building an artificial reef begins with community engagement. Fisherfolk are invited to share local ecological knowledge and help identify suitable sites for reef deployment. Scientists then assess seabed topography, water quality, and existing biodiversity before designing reef modules—each over 500 kg and a meter tall. Local divers and fishermen help deploy the structures less than five kilometers offshore, making the effort both participatory and empowering. Monitoring continues for years, as reefs mature and attract a diversity of marine wildlife. In Pondicherry, Kuddle Life has recorded remarkable results: a 20% rise in dissolved oxygen, increased chlorophyll levels, and nearly a fourfold growth in fish abundance. For local fishers, incomes have doubled—from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 per day—while fuel costs have halved because fishing now occurs closer to shore. These outcomes highlight how marine biodiversity conservation can drive both ecological and economic resilience. Globally, artificial reefs have become vital tools for restoring marine ecosystems damaged by climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Yet, as Oishinee reminds us, nothing can replace natural coral reefs. Artificial structures can only supplement lost habitat, not substitute for nature’s complexity. Still, by reviving degraded areas and promoting sustainable fishing, these reefs help maintain ocean productivity in a warming world. Beyond reef restoration, the Kuddle Life Foundation runs educational and research programs across India. Through marine litter surveys, bycatch reduction initiatives, dive training, and youth internships, the foundation is building a generation of ocean stewards. Its unique for-profit dive center reinvests earnings into conservation, while volunteers support marine ecology projects both underwater and onshore—from data analysis to biodiversity monitoring. Oishinee also discusses the challenges of sustaining NGO work in India—funding barriers, bureaucratic delays, and the slow pace of conservation impact. Yet, she finds hope in the growing public interest in marine biodiversity, particularly when students and non-biologists approach her asking how they can help. That curiosity, she believes, is the first step toward lasting ocean change. This episode reveals how grassroots innovation, science, and compassion are reshaping marine biodiversity hotspots along India’s coast—proving that ocean recovery begins not just beneath the waves, but within communities themselves. #artificialreefs #marineecology #marineecosystems #marinebiodiversity #marineconservation #marinewildlife #marinebiodiversityhotspot #marinebiodiversityconservation #biodiversityconservation #biodiversity #biodiversitymanagement About the Host Anish Banerjee is an early career ecologist, with a MSc in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation from Imperial College London. He is the founder of Think Wildlife Foundation and a biodiversity policy analyst at Legal Atlas. He is also the author of the following field guides: Field Guide to the Common Wildlife of India: https://amzn.in/d/2TnNvSE Field Guide to the Mammals of Singapore: https://amzn.in/d/gcbq8VG Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    19 min
  8. 12/19/2025

    S3|EP11 ~ Guardians of Nepal’s Wildlife: Tackling Poaching, Human-Wildlife Conflict, Orchid Conservation and Community Engagement with Greenhood Nepal

    Nepal is home to some of the world’s most iconic wildlife — from tigers, rhinos, and elephants to lesser-known species like pangolins and medicinal orchids. Yet behind its breathtaking biodiversity lies a complex struggle against wildlife poaching, illegal wildlife trade, and habitat loss. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we speak with Kumar Paudel, founder and director of Greenhood Nepal, one of the nation’s leading conservation organizations working to combat wildlife crime and promote community conservation across the Himalayas. Kumar shares his inspiring journey from a childhood in the mountains of Nepal to leading national efforts in biodiversity conservation. Through his work with Greenhood Nepal, he has helped transform the country’s conservation landscape — from early advocacy against poaching and corruption to the establishment of community-based monitoring networks and policy reform. Under his leadership, Nepal became the first nation to achieve zero poaching of rhinos, elephants, and tigers, an achievement rooted in strong enforcement, military protection, and deep community engagement. The conversation delves into the evolution of Nepal’s conservation success. Kumar discusses how community intelligence and local anti-poaching networks have become vital in protecting wildlife across national parks and buffer zones. Yet, he warns that while attention often centers on charismatic megafauna like tigers and rhinos, smaller and lesser-known species such as pangolins, tortoises, and orchids face rising threats from illegal wildlife trade and unsustainable harvesting. Greenhood Nepal’s work along the China–Nepal border provides critical insights into cross-border wildlife trade networks, revealing the motivations behind trafficking and empowering enforcement agencies through training, data sharing, and behavioral change campaigns. Kumar also highlights their pioneering research on orchid conservation, mapping over 500 native species — including more than 100 medicinally important orchids — and developing sustainable management plans that align with CITES compliance. The discussion also explores pangolin conservation, where Greenhood has led community outreach, identified priority habitats, and hosted Nepal’s first Pangolin Conservation Roundtable, catalyzing national policy action. Kumar explains how the team’s on-ground efforts — from habitat restoration to education and enforcement — have shaped the future of biodiversity management in Nepal. Beyond enforcement, Kumar reflects on the importance of compassion and understanding. His most memorable conservation experience came from visiting prisons and speaking with wildlife offenders, gaining firsthand insights into the socio-economic pressures that drive poaching and wildlife trade. His reflections underscore that sustainable conservation depends on addressing poverty, awareness, and opportunity — not just punishment. We also revisit Nepal’s remarkable success in tiger conservation, where populations have nearly tripled between 2010 and 2022, and discuss emerging challenges such as human–wildlife conflict. As Nepal continues to balance conservation and development, Kumar calls for stronger investment in coexistence strategies, habitat restoration, and community-led solutions. This episode offers an in-depth look at the intertwined issues of wildlife crime, community conservation, and biodiversity preservation in one of the world’s richest ecological regions. Tune in to learn how Nepal’s story of resilience, innovation, and collaboration continues to inspire the global conservation movement. About the Host Anish Banerjee is an early career ecologist, with a MSc in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation from Imperial College London. He is the founder of Think Wildlife Foundation and a biodiversity policy analyst at Legal Atlas. He is also the author of the following field guides: Field Guide to the Common Wildlife of India: https://amzn.in/d/2TnNvSE Field Guide to the Mammals of Singapore: https://amzn.in/d/gcbq8VG #Nepal #tigers #elephants #rhino #wildlife #wildlifeconservation #wildlifecrime #poaching #wildlifepoaching #hunting #wildlifetrade #illegalwildlifetrade #conservation #biodiversity #biodiversityofNepal #biodiversityconservation #biodiversitymanagement #orchids #orchidconservation #pangolins #communityconservation #communityengagement5 Get full access to The Think Wildlife Podcast at anishbanerjee.substack.com/subscribe

    24 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Every Monday, join our hosts, Anish Banerjee, as he speaks with renowned conservationists from around the world, dissecting some of the most pressing and intricate challenges threatening wildlife. anishbanerjee.substack.com