Krishna Tiwari

Krishna Tiwari was blessed to grow up in the lap of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, one of the largest urban protected areas in the world where he was inspired to devote his life to the beautiful, elusive jungle denizen – the leopard.

Since his youth he has volunteered for nature organizations, wildlife rescues, and other conservation projects. A turning point for him was a moment in this childhood when he saw an elegant, beautiful leopard being stoned, tortured and treated as an “outsider” in the concrete jungle. The incident pained him and left an indelible image of the prince of the jungle in his mind, heart and soul. He decided to do something about it.

After obtaining a degree in science, Tiwari started his career in the corporate world but was unsatisfied and gave up his lucrative career in favor of a position at the Natural History Society. He has been working in wildlife conservation with a focus on leopards. As apex predators of the forested areas of Mumbai, leopards often come into conflict with humans. Ongoing rampant urban development and encroachment has resulted in habitat destruction, prey base depletion, and further human-leopard conflict.

His primary aim is to work towards leopard conservation while keeping human life as a focal point. In 2005, he spearheaded leopard awareness campaigns explaining how to best interact with leopards and avert leopard attacks. These campaigns have reached more than 20,000 people so far, and Tiwari has worked hard to successfully change the attitudes of the local and tribal communities, media and other stakeholders.

He has led various research programs discovering previously unknown facts about the behavior, diet and urban survival techniques of these apex predator. He has also assisted the forest department in its leopard rescue efforts.

His peers and thousands of concerned citizens endorse his work. His opinions, often quoted in news tabloids, inspire and inform peaceful co-existence. He has also assisted NG Magazine, TV, BBC, and others to showcase an successful example of coexistence between humans and big cats.

 

Karunya Prasad

• Karunya is a wanderer, a keen international conservationist and loves all creatures great and small. She graduated from a Master of Conservation Science from Imperial College London in 2015 and has since been helping establish this NGO FWCS. Although based in Australia, she is passionate about wildlife conservation in India and has worked previously with Krishna Tiwari with the Bombay Natural History Society as well as with WWF-India in the Western Ghats. Karunya hopes to protect this significant, iconic green space- SGNP, and its unique inhabitants for the benefit of many future generations (of humans, animals and plants).