Instagram story viewer> @cwsindia> Posts

Centre for Wildlife Studies

@cwsindia

38.8K

followers

672

following

CWS-India is an internationally recognized centre of excellence in the arenas of wildlife research, in situ conservation, policy and education.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Nature's Clean-Up Crew Needs Our Help

Aishwarya Laghate, a wildlife scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is studying vultures in Madhya Pradesh; a state which hosts seven of India’s nine vulture species. Her research examines vulture species dynamics, prevalence of the harmful veterinary drug diclofenac in livestock carcasses, and ways to transform carcass dumping sites into valuable conservation resources.

Watch this video to know more about her work, and support her by contributing to her research via the link in bio.

#Vulture #WildlifeConservation #SaveTheVultures #Research by @cwsindia

407

10

3 days ago

India’s semi-arid open natural ecosystems are often dismissed as “wastelands”, but in reality they host a wide variety of wildlife.

Nikita Yardi, a wildlife scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is asking how these grasslands came to look the way they do, and what that transformation means for the wildlife and people who depend on them. She is collaborating with The Grasslands Trust, and part of her doctoral research will build upon the work the organization has been carrying out in these landscapes.

Watch this video to know more about her work, and support her by contributing to her research via the link in bio.

#WildlifeConservation #WildlifeScience #Grasslands by @cwsindia

111

1

5 days ago

How do people and elephants live alongside each other in the shared landscapes of the Western Ghats?

Aishwarya Anilkumar, a wildlife scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is studying human-elephant interactions in the Western Ghats by using household interviews to understand people’s experiences, perceptions, and willingness to participate in community-based conflict management.

Watch this video to know more about her work, and support her by contributing to her research via link in bio.

#WesternGhats #HumanElephantConflict #WildlifeConservation #WildlifeScience by @cwsindia

169

8

7 days ago

Fragmented forests can change how parasites move through wildlife. In the rainforest patches of Valparai, endangered lion-tailed macaques living near human settlements carry about twice as many kinds of gut parasite as those further away, many of them associated with livestock. These parasites may be one of the reasons fewer young macaques are surviving in the fragmented forests of Western Ghats.

To learn more, read the blog via the link in bio.

#WesternGhats #LionTailedMacaque #HabitatFragmentation #Wildlife by @cwsindia

113

0

11 hours ago

How has wildlife in India declined and recovered, and what challenges does it face today?

On 6th October 2026, Dr. Krithi K. Karanth (CEO) delivered the Luísa Pinho Sartori Lecture as the invited keynote speaker at the 29th Thematic Week in Biology (STBio) at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Her talk, “Living with Wildlife: Insights from three decades of Science and Conservation Practice from India,” explored the history of wildlife decline and recovery in India and the challenges facing conservation today. She also highlighted how CWS connects science with conservation action through its programs and partnerships with communities.

Supported by Instituto Luísa Pinho Sartori (ILPS), this marked the 16th edition of the lecture series and its first at the University of São Paulo.

#WildlifeConservation #IndiaWildlife #ConservationChallenges by @cwsindia

137

4

a day ago

Vultures are nature's clean-up crew, consuming carcasses and clearing hazardous remains from the environment before they become a problem for anyone else. But in India, that role has been quietly under threat for years. The veterinary drug diclofenac, still present in livestock carcasses, has driven a catastrophic decline in vulture populations.

Aishwarya Laghate, a wildlife scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is using camera traps and spatial analysis to map carcass dumping sites in Madhya Pradesh, which act as a food source for vultures. Her aim is to turn these overlooked dumping grounds into recognized conservation resources that benefit both vultures and nearby communities.

You can support her work today via the link in bio.

#Conservation #SaveVultures #WildlifeScience #Research by @cwsindia

145

2

a day ago

On 5th October 2026, our CEO Dr. Krithi K. Karanth spoke at a dinner hosted by Instituto Luísa Pinho Sartori (ILPS) in São Paulo, Brazil, sharing insights from her conservation work in India with supporters of the institute.

The institute was founded in 2015 by Cristina Pinho and Fábio Sartori, the parents of Luísa Pinho Sartori, a biology student who was passionate about protecting nature and passed away in an accident in 2009. It carries forward her commitment to conservation by supporting young conservationists and their projects.

#Conservation #Wildlife #Brazil by @cwsindia

97

9

2 days ago

When we think about wildlife in India, forests usually come to mind first. But some of the country's most threatened species live somewhere far less celebrated: grasslands. India's semi-arid open natural ecosystems support the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, the Indian wolf, one of the world's most ancient wolf lineages, the blackbuck, India's fastest land mammal, and striped hyenas, among many others.

These species do not live in untouched wilderness. They share working landscapes shaped by decades of decisions about agriculture, irrigation, and development. Nikita Yardi, a wildlife scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is tracing the political and economic decisions that shaped Western Maharashtra's open natural ecosystems, and the ecological consequences that followed. In collaboration with The Grasslands Trust, her doctoral research will build upon the work the organization has been carrying out in these landscapes.

You can support her work today via the link in bio.

#WildlifeConservation #Grasslands #ConservationScience #Research by @cwsindia

170

3

4 days ago

On 28th September 2026, our CEO Dr. Krithi K. Karanth was invited to give a lecture at The Explorers Club in New York on “Transforming Human-Wildlife Coexistence in India.” The lecture had over 200 attendees, bringing together members of The Explorers Club, scientists, conservationists, and others interested in India’s conservation story.

Dr. Karanth also rang the historic bell at The Explorers Club—a long-standing tradition in which the speaker rings the bell to mark the beginning of the presentation, carrying with it a rich history of exploration and discovery.

Drawing on nearly three decades of research and conservation work across India’s wild places, Dr. Karanth's talk explored the complex relationship between people and wildlife, tracing the history of wildlife decline in India from the 1850s and the growing challenges of human-wildlife conflict.

She also highlighted how science, conservation, and partnerships have shaped CWS’ work on the ground, sharing insights from her work.

This was followed by a conversation on some of India’s most pressing conservation challenges and the ways communities, scientists, and conservation organizations can work together to build a future where both people and wildlife can thrive.

#WildlifeConservation #ConservationScience #TheExplorersClub by @cwsindia

94

0

4 days ago

Across the Western Ghats, elephants and people share the same landscape, and sometimes that sharing comes at a cost. Human-elephant conflict leads to crop loss, property damage, and sometimes injury or death for both people and elephants. Understanding this conflict also means looking at people’s livelihoods, access to information, and the ways communities respond.

Aishwarya Anilkumar, a wildlife scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, began her journey with elephants as part of the CWS Elephant Program in 2022. Using over 500 household interviews across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, she is mapping human-elephant conflict and people’s perceptions surrounding elephants.

You can support her work today at the link in bio.

#WildlifeConflict #Elephants #Research #WesternGhats by @cwsindia

134

5

6 days ago

Otters are charismatic and visible, and often taken as a sign of a healthy river, but presence alone does not tell the full story. A population can be sighted regularly even as it grows isolated, loses genetic diversity, or struggles quietly with a changing environment.

Apoorva Sodhi, Wildlife Scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is studying Smooth-coated otter and the Asian small-clawed otter, across Goa and Odisha. Her research involves using non-invasive fecal samples to examine their genetics, diet, and gut microbiome. She is comparing both species across undisturbed and human-modified landscapes to see whether some populations are more resilient than others.

You can support her work today at the link in bio.

#WildlifeResearch #OtterConservation #SmoothCoatedOtter #AsianSmallClawedOtter by @cwsindia

205

0

8 days ago

Are India's Otters Really Doing Fine?

Apoorva Sodhi, Wildlife Scientist and Doctoral Fellow at CWS, is studying two threatened otter species, the Smooth-coated otter and the Asian small-clawed otter, across sites in Goa and Odisha.

With initial support, she completed reconnaissance and pilot fieldwork. Apoorva is now raising funds for further fieldwork, combined with genomic and molecular analyses to study genetics, diet, and gut microbiome.

Watch this video to know more about her work and support her by contributing to her research here: https://cwslnk.co/supportwildlifescientists26

#OtterResearch #SmoothCoatedOtter #AsianSmallClawedOtter #SaveTheOtters by @cwsindia

414

22

10 days ago