Wild At Heart

Rajasthan’s sacred groves, orans, stand as living testaments to community-led conservation — where people, wildlife, and tradition coexist in a fragile yet enduring balance.

Ipra Mekola, once a hunter, is now leading his Idu Mishmi community in conserving the critically endangered Bengal florican by protecting grasslands and turning children into bird guides.

For 120 days, photographer Prasenjeet Yadav set up camera traps in Odisha’s Similipal forest, chasing a dream, 12 years in the making. One rare image of a black tiger changed everything.

Conservationist Krithi Karanth has spent three decades addressing India’s human–wildlife conflict. Her work through initiatives like Wild Seve and Wild Shaale has now won global recognition with the McNulty Prize.

It took days of waiting by a frozen lake in Russia, but for 14-year-old Kesshav Vikram from Coimbatore, one perfect click of a bear and a gull has carried his vision to London’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025.

Vivek Menon, co-founder of the Wildlife Trust of India, was inspired by early encounters with wildlife. His lifelong passion for conservation has led to significant contributions to wildlife protection, anti-poaching efforts, and the creation of elephant corridors in India.

Anil Mistry’s life changed the day he saw a dying doe in the Sundarbans. Once a poacher, he is now a conservationist who has saved 70 tigers and empowered locals with safer livelihoods.

In parts of India, classrooms have no walls — just forests, paw prints, and whispers of the wild. Here, children learn to rescue snakes, track tigers, and speak for creatures that can’t. These hands-on programmes are raising a new generation of wildlife defenders, armed with empathy, knowledge, and courage.

Long before Kaziranga became a national park, a brave tribal forest guard named Mahi Chandra Miri took on poachers and protected its endangered wildlife with nothing but courage and conviction. His forgotten fight in the 1900s laid the foundation for one of India’s most iconic conservation success stories. Here's his incredible tale.

Near Pench National Park, this wilderness camp is dismantled every year before the monsoon, allowing the forest and its wildlife to regenerate. Built by the family behind Project Tiger, the eco-stay uses reclaimed materials, local produce, and minimal infrastructure to create a model where tourism supports conservation — does not compete with it.