Dhritiman Mukherjee is one of India’s leading wildlife photographers, celebrated for capturing rare and endangered species in remote regions—from the Arctic to the Himalayas. A self-taught naturalist and mountaineer, he spends over 300 days a year in the wild documenting elusive animals like the snow leopard and Narcondam hornbill. His work, featured in National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, and The Hindu, blends art, science, and conservation, earning him accolades like the Carl Zeiss Conservation Award and the RBS Earth Hero Award.

A molecular ecologist turned National Geographic Photographer and Explorer, Prasenjeet Yadav uses storytelling to bridge the gap between science and society. His photo stories spotlight India’s hidden species, fragile ecosystems, and climate challenges, blending research with visual art. Featured in National Geographic and global festivals, his work inspires awareness and action. He also co-founded Shoot for Science to help researchers communicate their work effectively.

Dr Mewa Singh is a Professor at the University of Mysore and a leading wildlife researcher who has studied Indian primates for over five decades. His work spans diverse habitats—from the Himalayas to the Nicobar Islands—focusing on behavior, ecology, and conservation. His recent research explores how urban environments shape monkeys’ foraging skills and social behavior. Widely recognized for his contributions, he has received numerous national and international awards for advancing wildlife science in India.

Ishan Shanavas is a 22-year-old bestselling author of The Light of Wilder Things, which traces his journey through India’s wild landscapes. A two-time TEDx speaker and environmental influencer he blends storytelling and ecological awareness through his work and his educational initiative, Eco-Inspire. Featured on CNN-News18, Scroll, and Mongabay, he is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Ashoka University.

Dr Vidya Athreya, Director at WCS–India, is a wildlife biologist whose work bridges large cat ecology with the social and cultural aspects of human–wildlife coexistence. A member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and the SSC Human–Wildlife Conflict Group, she has collaborated with Forest Departments and media to shape national policy on human–leopard conflict. Her research has advanced understanding of large carnivores outside Protected Areas, earning her the Carl Zeiss, TN Khoshoo, and Maharana Udai Singh Awards.

Dr Ravi Chellam is a veteran Indian wildlife biologist with over four decades of experience. His Ph.D. focused on Asiatic lions in Gir, and he has since played a key role in lion conservation, including the Supreme Court–mandated Kuno translocation. He has held leadership roles at WII, UNDP, ATREE, WCS–India, and more. Currently CEO of Metastring Foundation and co-ordinator of the Biodiversity Collaborative, he champions evidence-based conservation and contributes to national debates on forest rights, biodiversity, and ecological security.

Sudhir Shivaram is one of India’s leading wildlife photographers and photography educators. An engineer by training, he discovered his passion for wildlife photography in 1993 while studying in Karnataka and later left a successful corporate career at HP and Schneider to pursue it full-time. Named Sanctuary Asia’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2012 and recipient of the National Geographic Yellow Border Award in 2013, Sudhir is also known for pioneering online photography education in India.

Romulus Whitaker, the “Snake Man of India,” is an American-born Indian herpetologist and conservationist. He founded the Madras Snake Park, Crocodile Bank, and Irula Snake Catchers’ Cooperative, revolutionising reptile conservation and antivenom production in India. Trained at the Miami Serpentarium, he raised awareness about snakebite prevention and helped breed endangered reptiles. His Emmy-winning film King Cobra and awards like the Whitley, Rolex, and Padma Shri mark his legacy. Rom continues to promote education, human-wildlife coexistence, and is authoring a three-volume autobiography.

Janaki Lenin is a writer and former wildlife filmmaker, best known for her books A King Cobra’s Summer, My Husband and Other Animals (volumes 1 & 2), and Every Creature Has a Story. She co-wrote Romulus Whitaker’s autobiography Snakes, Drugs and Rock ’n’ Roll (2024). A conservationist, she has contributed to national wildlife management plans and served as Regional Chair of the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group (South Asia & Iran). Formerly a film editor and producer, she now focuses entirely on writing about wildlife and conservation.

Shri Naresh Bedi, Padma Shri awardee, is a pioneering Indian wildlife filmmaker and director with over 40 years of experience capturing rare species like tigers, snow leopards, gharials, and red pandas. Founder of Bedi Films, his documentaries—winning multiple Panda Awards, BAFTA nominations, and international honors—have brought India’s wildlife to global audiences. Known for innovative filming techniques and adventurous fieldwork, he has also served on national wildlife boards and juries for international film festivals.

Rajesh Bedi, born in 1950 in the Himalayan foothills, is a pioneering Indian photojournalist and cinematographer with five decades of experience capturing wildlife, culture, and heritage. His work has appeared in National Geographic, Life, and Geo, and his books—including Indian Wildlife and India’s Wild Wonders—offered unprecedented glimpses into animal behavior. A trailblazer in documenting elephants, Sadhus, and India’s landscapes, he has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Green Oscars, Emmy, BAFTA nomination, and a Lifetime Photography Award from the Government of India.

Ramachandra Guha is a Bengaluru-based historian and author whose works span environmental, social, and political history. His acclaimed books include The Unquiet Woods, A Corner of a Foreign Field, and India After Gandhi. He has also written a two-volume biography of Mahatma Gandhi. His honours include the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Fukuoka Prize, and an honorary doctorate from Yale University.

Sara is a wildlife filmmaker and the founder of Evanescence Studios and The Indian Wildlife Channel. He has worked for major networks like the BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and Discovery and his latest series was for Netflix. Sara started his journey as a wildlife photographer and continues to share a passion for creating images

Aravind Mohanraj is a filmmaker who loves to direct, shoot, edit, whatever it takes to bring a story to life. He is drawn to the hidden stories in nature and enjoys blending visual styles with both modern and traditional music. He aims to create films that are engaging, honest, and visually compelling.

Dr Tarsh Thekaekara is a researcher and conservationist interested in developing more human-inclusive models of nature conservation. He co-founded The Shola Trust in 2008, The Real Elephant Collective (a social enterprise) in 2015, and WildCarbon in 2025. His work focuses on Lantana camara, exploring how communities can utilise this invasive plant in ways that enable self-financing removal and ecological restoration. Tarsh is also deeply interested in understanding how people and elephants share space and in finding ways to minimise negative interactions. Most of his work is based in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, spanning Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, though he is equally committed to promoting human–wildlife coexistence at national and global scales.

Shailesh Shrivastava is a Senior Editor at Mongabay India. A journalist since 2007, Shailesh was most recently the Editor of award-winning IndiaSpend, a public interest journalism outfit which uses data to write and syndicate stories in areas like health, education and the environment. Before that, he was the Managing Editor at news agency 101Reporters, where he managed a pan-India network of reporters and national and international publishers. He has worked as an Assistant Editor at the International Business Times and anchored desk operations in Bangalore bureaus of Deccan Chronicle, Daily News & Analysis, and The New Indian Express. As an editor, Shailesh is keenly interested in development journalism and politics.

3 time Grammy® Award Winner, Padma Shri Awardee, US Billboard #1 artist, United Nations "Goodwill Ambassador", “GQ Man Of The Year”, Ricky Kej is an internationally renowned Indian Music Composer and Environmentalist. Ricky has performed at prestigious venues in over 35 countries, including at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and Geneva.

Rohit is a wildlife filmmaker and photographer whose journey into the wild began in 2010, after he left his corporate life behind. Driven by a passion for nature storytelling, he went on to found Nature inFocus, a leading media and production house spotlighting stories from the wild. Over the years, he has worked on acclaimed films including Project Tiger, The Last Frontier, The Real Jungle Book, and Destination Wild India.

Kalyan Varma is a wildlife photographer, filmmaker, naturalist and explorer specialising in environmental issues. He freelances with many of the world's leading magazines, environmental NGOs and television networks like the National Geographic and BBC.

Iravatee is a researcher trained in interdisciplinary conservation and sustainability studies and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru. Her work focuses on the Deccan region, where they study how pastoralist communities coexist with wolves in rapidly transforming Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs). By examining the daily lives of pastoralists and their relationship with the land, Iravatee explores the dynamics of human-wildlife coexistence. Her long-term research interests lie in understanding and managing the ONEs of the Deccan as shared landscapes that support both pastoralism and biodiversity conservation.

Virat is a Communications and Media professional with over 20 years of experience. As Head of Communications at Asar for the past six years, he has led strategic initiatives on air pollution and climate. A former journalist with 14 years in Mumbai-based newspapers, Virat specialised in environment and wildlife reporting—an experience that shaped his focus on simplifying and strengthening communication in conservation. For over a decade, he has conducted workshops across India and abroad, training forest officials and conservation practitioners to engage effectively with media, and helping journalists report sensitively on human–wildlife conflict.

Pankaj Sekhsaria is an interdisciplinary researcher with interests that lie at the intersection of environment, technology, science and the environment. He has worked for the last three decades on issues of protected areas in general and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in particular. He is author/editor of six books on the islands including more recently 'The Great Nicobar Betrayal' (Frontline 2024) and 'Island on Edge - The Great Nicobar Crisis' (Westland 2025).

Jose Louies is the Chief Executive Officer of the Wildlife Trust of India, with over two decades of experience in wildlife conservation. His work spans wildlife crime management, rescue and rehabilitation, and capacity building for forest staff. He has led covert investigations that exposed major wildlife crime networks and developed Project HAWK, a pioneering digital platform for wildlife crime management. Under his leadership, WTI runs 60+ projects nationwide. A passionate conservationist, Jose also founded indiansnakes.org, promoting snake conservation and safe human-snake conflict mitigation, and is an avid beekeeper dedicated to spreading awareness about apiculture and ecological balance.

Sugandhi Gadadhar is a National Geographic Explorer, a wildlife filmmaker/cinematographer. She is an Associate Fellow, iLCP, and a member of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. Her short films on wildlife and conservation have won several awards at various film festivals. Sugandhi aims to tell stories about nature and the wild spaces around us that must be protected and preserved. 

Rana is a cinematographer, wildlife filmmaker, and tech geek. He is happiest when he needs to observe and film animal behaviour. He is a member of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group. He loves telling stories about the beauty of nature and wildlife to raise awareness of issues related to their conservation.

Ashwika Kapur is an award-winning wildlife filmmaker based between the UK and India. Over the past decade, she has directed and presented films for the BBC, National Geographic, Netflix, Disney, Animal Planet, Discovery, and RoundGlass Sustain. Known for her emotionally resonant, character-led storytelling, Ash has also created impactful grassroots documentaries that drive real-world conservation change. Beyond filmmaking, she mentors emerging voices in conservation storytelling and serves on the Boards of the Royal Television Society West of England and Wildscreen’s Nature Story Advisory Board.

An Assistant Editor with The Hindu’s Metro Plus team, Preeti writes across topics, including sustainability, culture, art, society, books, wildlife and health. She holds a degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York, with a focus on art and culture reporting, and has previously worked with Mint Lounge. She is particularly invested in exploring the intersection of nature and culture, and tries to bring nuance to anything she reports on.

Ganesh Raghunathan is a conservation photographer and researcher with the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), focusing on human-elephant interactions in Valparai. His work involves using technology like drones to monitor elephant movement and understand their ranging patterns and habitat use within the plantation-forest matrix.

Samreen Farooqui is a filmmaker, producer, and commissioning editor with over 20 years of experience in non-fiction media, research, and narratives. Her work traces an India-in-transition through stories of changing socio-political realities, wildlife and environment, urban living and technology. Currently, she heads films at Roundglass Sustain, a comprehensive repository of India’s biodiversity, environmental realities, and community led conservation. She has led the commissioning and creative production of over 200 original short films, working closely with filmmaking teams, researchers, communities and field experts from across India. These films serve as powerful tools for education, advocacy, and cultural shifts in support of ecological awareness and action.

Seema Lokhandwala is a researcher and conservationist working to integrate technology, behavioural science, and local knowledge to address conservation problems. She founded the Elephant Acoustics Project, which uses acoustic technology to understand Asian elephant communication and further coexistence goals in the Northeast of India.