Instagram story viewer> @sarikalivingwild> Tagged

Dr. Sarika Khanwilkar, conservation scientist

@sarikalivingwild

16.1K

followers

2645

following

Wildlife, people, & responsible travel
🎓 PhD in Ecology, @fulbrightindia Fellow
Work w/ @wildtigerorg @indiaecoacousticsnetwork
🇺🇸🇮🇳 Mixed

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

What looks like a cool photo or video could be part of a much bigger problem...

❌ Big cats are not pets or props
❌️ Captive big cats are not meant to be touched
❌ Ethical facilities don’t allow direct contact with animals

And many places that breed tigers and other big cats for entertainment and commercial activities? They’re not just unethical—they’re often connected to the illegal wildlife trade.

If you're posting about captive tigers, lions, cheetahs, snow leopards, jaguars, cougars, or leopards:
✅ Avoid content that shows physical contact
✅ Share posts that center ethics and conservation

#bigcats #lions #tigers #wildlife #content #ethics #advice #photo #props #conservation #animals #zoo #rescuecenter #mrbeast #cheetah #leopard #pets #notyourpet #wildlifecrime #illegaltrade #snowleopard #cougars #socialmedia

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We are curating an annotated acoustic dataset for India! 🇮🇳🌿

This dataset will be:
🔓 Open-access (for non-commercial use)
🧠 Used to train AI models for wildlife classification
📚 Accompanied by a peer-reviewed scientific publication co-authored by all community contributors

This is a community-driven effort — researchers, sound recordists, wildlife lovers, and conservationists: we need you!

❓ Learn more in the FAQs document and indicate your interest in participating by filling out the Data Agreement form. 🔗 links in bio!

This project is being spearheaded by IEN's AI Models Working Group: Nishant Bhagwat, Pralhad Burli, Pooja Choksi, Viral Joshi, Sarika Khanwilkar, Paul Pop, Vijay Ramesh, Sameer Singh, Sonal Teotia

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Conservation is about wildlife as much as it is about people.

This is just one example of how we can combine ecological data, like tiger presence and movement, with social data, like how and where communities are using resources and experiencing potential conflict with wildlife, to design better conservation strategies.

Tiger conservation solutions need to be rooted in community rights, especially in areas outside Protected Areas.

#conservation #wildlife #development #humanrights #protectnature #nature #tigers #tigersinthewild #wildtoger #socialscience #ecology #interdisciplinary #science #research #womeninscience #data #corridors #landscape #bigcats #biodiversity

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🚩 Breeding white tigers and hybrid animals called ligers and tigons in captivity has no conservation value. It is done purely for entertainment and profit.

✅️ The only ethical place to see these animals is at accredited animal sanctuaries or rescue centers. These facilities do not breed white tigers or hybrid animals.

#whitetiger #tigers #tigons #ligers #lion #hybrid #breeding #genetics #captivity #tigersinamerica #wildlife #animals #nature #conservation #bigcats #biodiversity #science #ethical #responsible #travel #experience #rescuecenter #zoo #sanctuary #animalsanctuary

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Photos with tigers are not harmless. 🐅📸

Touching and cuddling tigers might look cool, but it normalizes the idea that tigers make good pets. SPOILER ALERT: ❌️ tigers are wild animals and do NOT make good pets.

No facility that truly cares about animal welfare or public safety would allow physical contact with animals. In addition, many of the facilities that breed tigers for entertainment have been heavily involved in the illegal trade in tigers and their parts.

⚠️ If you're posting captive big cat content:
• Avoid human contact shots
• Post content of tigers from a legitimate and accredited facility that contributes positively to tiger conservation

#womeninscience #science #research #primate #tiger #wildtiger #illegaltrade #sciencecommunication #ethics #guidelines #conservation #wildlife #nature #zoo #captivity #animalsoftiktok #animalsofinstagram #online #bigcats #communication #aza #rescuecenter #ambassadoranimal

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There is growing evidence that involving local people in conservation leads to benefits for biodiversity.

How much longer will it take for those managing tiger landscapes around the world to integrate social science into their work, building evidence to inform action about how best to promote a right-based approach to conservation and address livelihood needs of people?

#biodiversity #conservation #tigers #wildlife #communities #rights #humanrights #livelihoods #nature #people #bigcats #research #science

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Love Island tiger conservation edition

#loveisland #loveislandusa #meme #tigers #conservation #wildlife #nature #animals #protectnature #biodiversity #bigcats #womeninscience #zoo #rescuecenter #cameratrap #subspecies #science #research #tourism #responsibletravel

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Here, we talk about tigers and how we can conserve them!

🐯 So you know when tiger content is ✅️ or 🚩
🐯 So you can identify genuinel conservation
🐯 So you don’t accidentally support a sketchy “rescue” center
🐯 So you can drop science-backed tiger facts at parties

#tigers #tigersinthewild #bigcats #tiger #conservation #wildlife #funfacts #learn #education #wildlife #community #protectnature #science #research #facts #biodiversity #animals #animalfacts #sustainability

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🐅 For decades, tiger conservation followed a fortress conservation model. This meant fencing off forests, excluding people, and often displacing Indigenous and local communities in the name of protecting tigers.

But our approach can change given emerging evidence of the benefits of a rights-based approach to conservation.

🌱 A rights-based approach recognizes that protecting nature must go hand in hand with respecting people. That means:

— Prioritizing land, culture, and livelihood rights
— Centering local knowledge and leadership
— Moving away from exclusion and toward respect for people's lives who live alongside tigers

Real tiger conservation supports both people and wildlife.

#tigers #tigersinthewild #wildtiger #conservation #protectnature #community #rights #land #exclusion #history #science #research #collaboration #people #bigcats #wildlife #animals #culture

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Can you name all 6 living subspecies of tigers left in the wild today? They may all roar, but tiger subspecies are all genetically distinct and differ in size, appearance, and where they're found.

1️⃣ Bengal tiger – Panthera tigris tigris
2️⃣ Indochinese tiger – Panthera tigris corbetti
3️⃣ Malayan tiger – Panthera tigris jacksoni
4️⃣ Siberian (Amur) tiger – Panthera tigris altaica
5️⃣ South China tiger – Panthera tigris amoyensis
6️⃣ Sumatran tiger – Panthera tigris sumatrae

📣 Tag a friend who thinks all tigers look the same 👀

🖼 tiger subspecies illustration by @green_humour

#tigers #wildtiger #tigersinthewild #subspecies #dna #wildlife #nature #conservation #scicomm #womeninscience #animals #animallover #bigcats

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Indian Conservation Conference (2/3)

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In India’s northeast grasslands, early career scientist @chiranjib_bora.18 is using passive acoustic monitoring to study some of the most elusive and understudied bird species, like the Endangered Swamp Grass Babbler and Vulnerable Black-breasted Parrotbill.

With support from Wild Tiger, Chiranjib deployed autonomous sound recorders in Manas, Kaziranga, and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks to undertake this research.

🛠️ We are proud to support early career scientists by providing essential field equipment that makes research like this possible.

#Support #Research #Bioacoustics #India #Conservation #Community #Impact #Nonprofit #Science #Indianwildlife #Conservation #Biodiversity #Wildlife #Grasslands

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