Dr Krithi Karanth, a leading conservation scientist in India, has undeniable expertise in the field of wildlife conservation.
The brilliant scientist from Mangaluru was recently chosen as a recipient of the 2019 Women of Discovery Award by WINGS Worldquest, an organisation that supports women scientists and recognises them for their extraordinary work in their respective fields.
Dr Karanth was chosen as a winner alongside other accomplished women such as Dr Lacy Lichentenfeld, Mande Holford and Darlene Lim.
Born in Mangaluru to a family of wildlife enthusiasts, Dr Karanth grew up learning about forests, animals and the need to conserve these precious resources. Her father is a Tiger Biologist, and her grandfather was a leading environmentalist.
Speaking to Shenomics, she said, "I had a pretty unusual childhood. My father is a very well known Tiger Biologist and conservationist, so I spent a lot of my childhood watching animals and [travelling] with him. I was definitely interested in being outdoors, watching animals, and just being in nature but I also saw the difficulties he faced… and so I never wanted to even remotely pursue a career that was like his."
For the past 20 years, Dr Karanth has focused her research in India, conducting "macro-level studies assessing patterns of species distributions and extinctions, impacts of wildlife tourism, consequences of voluntary resettlement, land-use change, and human-wildlife interactions."
Her first project was in Bhadra, Karnataka, in 2002 where she studied the voluntary resettlement of people and the livelihood concerns that arose as a result. She is currently working on a project called Wildseve which has helped over 7000 families file wildlife-compensation claims and receiving their rightful benefits. Through the years, she has also mentored more than a 100 scientists from India, Australia, the UK as well as the USA, inspiring them to strive for the betterment of our wildlife and studying how human activities affect it.