Her father is tiger expert and conservationist K Ullas Karanth, but Krithi Karanth was initially not drawn to his field. It was a conscious choice. But, as they say, the apple does not fall far from the tree, and soon she realised that conservation was, in fact, her calling.
“I observed that this is a very difficult profession to deal with. There are a lot of tragic stories. But by the time I went ahead with my bachelor’s in the US, where there is scope for experimenting with what you want to do in life, I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
After schooling in India, Krithi headed to University of Florida for graduation. She then completed a Master’s in Environmental Science from Yale, got a doctoral degree from Duke University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University. “My experiences at Duke and Yale were fantastic. There were so many discussions, and each of them proved interesting one way or the other. All this trains you to collaborate in your career. Their style of teaching is very interdisciplinary,” says the 35-year-old.
This youngster is also a Ramanujan Fellowship awardee. “The award is given to those who have studied abroad. They support your salary and give money without restriction. And this is fantastic, because it gives you the freedom to work on things you want to do,” she says.
For her doctoral thesis, Krithi examined how several species of large mammals in India became extinct or dwindled. She got in touch with taxidermists and wildlife officials, and studied hunting locations and established the status of the species in her paper, which was published in the Proceedings of The Royal Society of London in 2010. She has also published a paper on Assessing Patterns of Human-Wildlife Conflicts and Compensation, around a Central Indian Protected Area, through the National Science Foundation, US. According to the report, crop loss was high around the areas of livestock predation in and around Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh. There were also livestock losses in those villages.
Krithi’s published work has been used by the Central government to make policy decisions on resettlement, and her work on tourism was used as evidence in a Supreme Court case reviewing national guidelines for wildlife tourism.
At present, she is involved in scientific research, examining biodiversity in production landscapes (involving ecosystems that support agricultural production) and understanding human-wildlife interactions. “My projects currently cover five-seven states in India. I have also begun work on human-conflict work in Indonesia and other parts of the world. My time is spent planning research projects, raising funds, carrying out studies and publishing findings and translating them to have implications in policy-making,” explains Krithi.
She is also a conservation ambassador, who has expressed her views on various platforms like National Geographic and TedX and INK conferences. She teaches the master’s programme in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the National Centre for Biological Sciences-Wildlife Conservation Society, Bangalore, and the undergraduate level at Duke University.
On conservation in the country, she says a lot of species are endangered but India is doing a better job than many other Asian countries, where wildlife has completely been wiped out. Conservation requires intelligent planning and a sense of responsibility, she says.
Conservation biologists can be found in very few places in the country, as the profession had not been taken seriously till recently. “But now there is demand for more conservationists. Earlier, we didn’t have awards, but now we do. It was just a hobby then, but now people are respected,” she says, adding, “I wouldn’t say it is a profitable job, but it’s for those who like a simple life and are passionate about conservation.”
Krithi loves to travel in her free time. “I try to visit as many places as possible. Last year, I travelled to Uzbekistan with my mother,” she says. Krithi, however, walks a tough path. Outlining the challenges in her line of work, she says, “Sometimes the government might not permit us to do research, or they would delay it. Also, people don’t value your expertise as a scientist. There is also an initial hesitation to trust you, as you are a woman. But that changes when you prove your mettle.”
Inspired by her parents, Krithi is full of praise for them. “They are incredible. My mom, Dr Prathibha Karanth, (Professor and Consultant, SRC Institute of Speech and Hearing, Bangalore) is a very strong lady and a successful professional. I was inspired by both my parents, first for the passion they have for their work and second for the freedom and respect they have for each other’s professions,” she shares.
— kaviya@newindianexpress.com