The Think Wildlife Podcast

In this compelling episode of The Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Indrajit Ghorpade, founder of the Deccan Conservation Foundation, about wolf conservation in the Koppal District of Karnataka and the overlooked biodiversity of the Deccan Plateau. The conversation offers a rare, ground-level perspective on the Indian wolf and the urgent need to rethink how India approaches grassland conservation and biodivers...

India’s coastal waters hold immense promise—and growing peril. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Oishinee Chakraborty from the Kuddle Life Foundation, a young organization redefining marine conservation in Pondicherry through science, community collaboration, and artificial reefs.

Oishinee introduces listeners to the Foundation’s origins—founded in 2020 by Punit Dhandhania and Hans Dhandh...

Nepal is home to some of the world’s most iconic wildlife — from tigers, rhinos, and elephants to lesser-known species like pangolins and medicinal orchids. Yet behind its breathtaking biodiversity lies a complex struggle against wildlife poaching, illegal wildlife trade, and habitat loss. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we speak with Kumar Paudel, founder and director of Greenhood Nepal, one of the nation’s leading ...

As the global biodiversity crisis intensifies, the race is on to design financial systems that protect nature rather than destroy it. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, Dr. Samuel Sinclair, co-founder of Biodiversify, unpacks the evolution of biodiversity credits, the limitations of the current biodiversity credit market, and the urgent need for credible biodiversity conservation finance. Based in the UK, Biodiversify w...

In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we travel to the frozen frontiers of the Arctic to uncover one of conservation’s most inspiring success stories — the revival of the Arctic fox in Svalbard and Fennoscandia. Host Anish Banerjee is joined by Nina Elisabeth Eide from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), who shares her remarkable two-decade journey studying and protecting wild canids in one of the world’s h...

The African savannas once echoed with herds of graceful antelopes—species perfectly adapted to life in some of the harshest landscapes on Earth. Among them, the Beisa oryx stands out as a symbol of resilience, yet today it faces growing threats from habitat loss, poaching, and human expansion. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we explore the inspiring story of oryx conservation and rewilding efforts that are giving thi...

In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we explore one of India’s most unique and little-known primates — the slender loris, a small nocturnal primate that thrives in the tree canopies of southern India and Sri Lanka. Joining us is Professor Kaberi Kar Gupta, visiting scientist at the Indian Institute of Science and founder of the Urban Slender Loris Project, who shares her decades-long journey from studying forest ecology t...

High in the misty forests of North Bengal and Northeast India, a quiet conservation movement is unfolding around one of the world’s most charismatic yet misunderstood mammals — the red panda. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, host Anish Banerjee speaks with young conservationist Aamir Khan Sohel, whose pioneering work bridges red panda conservation breeding, community-led conservation, and the power of science communic...

In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we speak with Ishan Shanavas — a nature photographer, author, and founder of EcoInspire, an environmental education initiative that has already reached over 20,000 students across 70 schools in five Indian states. Through engaging storytelling, dynamic school sessions, and vivid wildlife photography, Ishan is helping shape how young people understand and appreciate biodiversity and the...

In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we are joined by Etelle Higonnet, founder of Coffee Watch, a nonprofit watchdog organization dedicated to the proposition that we should make the world a better place with each cup of coffee. We uncover the hidden environmental and social costs of the global coffee industry — from deforestation and ecosystem degradation to human rights violations in coffee plantations in tropical lands...

Across Asia, nearly one in three elephants lives in captivity—used in temples, tourism, logging, and religious festivals. In this powerful episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, Canadian photographer and elephant conservation advocate Larry Laverty joins host Anish Banerjee to shed light on the suffering of captive elephants and the urgent need for elephant conservation across both Asia and Africa.

Larry Laverty’s remarkable journey...

India’s growing population of free-ranging dogs has become one of the most complex and divisive conservation challenges of our time. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, we dive deep into the intersection of animal welfare, public health, and biodiversity conservation with ecologist Arshyaan Shahid, who unpacks the ecological, legal, and ethical dilemmas surrounding India’s 60 million stray dogs.

The discussion begins with...

Welcome to Season 4 of the Think Wildlife Podcast, where we explore the frontlines of biodiversity conservation through stories that shape the future of our planet.

In this episode, host Anish Banerjee speaks with Ram Pratap Singh, a social entrepreneur, conservationist, and founder of the Indian School of Nature, who has spent over two decades working to restore the Chambal River—one of India’s most extraordinary examples of riveri...

As the world rapidly urbanizes, our cities face growing challenges of ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate impacts. In the 1950s, only 30% of the world’s population lived in cities; by the 2030s, that number will exceed 60%. While this shift creates opportunities for rural rewilding, it also threatens the health of our urban ecosystems. One of the most powerful solutions emerging is the creation of urban forests th...

Coral reefs are among the most extraordinary ecosystems on our planet, supporting nearly a quarter of all marine life despite covering less than one percent of the ocean floor. In this episode, we dive deep into the wonders and challenges of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system, stretching over 2,300 kilometers and visible even from outer space. Our guest, Carolyn Trewin, Senior Program Manager at the Great...

Human-elephant conflict is one of the most pressing challenges in conservation biology, especially across Asia’s biodiversity hotspots where elephants and people share fragmented landscapes. In this episode of the Think Wildlife Podcast, Anish speaks with Anandi Gandhi, a PhD researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, whose work in Eastern Thailand explores how farmers and elephants navigate complex realities of human-...

Amphibians are among the most threatened groups of animals on Earth, making them critical indicators of ecosystem health and biodiversity preservation. In this episode, we are joined by Mark Mandica, Executive Director of Amphibian Foundation, who shares his expertise on amphibian ecology, conservation biology, and the urgent need to protect these keystone species and ecosystem engineers. His leadership highlights how amphibians ar...

Wetlands are among the most fragile and threatened ecosystems on Earth, disappearing three times faster than forests. Since the 1970s, 35% of the world’s wetlands have vanished due to urbanization, pollution, and poor water management, yet these habitats are biodiversity hotspots essential for climate resilience, freshwater biodiversity, and wildlife conservation.

In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Fowler, CEO of the Wildfowl a...

Elephants are among the planet’s most iconic species, revered as gentle giants, ecosystem engineers, and keystone species essential to biodiversity conservation. Yet across Africa, these magnificent animals face one of their gravest challenges—not poaching alone, but rising human–elephant conflict. In this episode, we speak with Purity Milgo from the Save the Elephants Foundation, an organization founded by Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilto...