A View from the Machan

Is natural history a science? Are there scientific ways in which we can give wild animals a better chance of survival? How does conservation actually work? Ullas Karanth has been evolving practical, science-based conservation solutions for over a quarter of a century. He has developed camera-trap sampling techniques that are now employed to monitor predators such as tigers, jaguars, cheetahs, and leopards across the world. His book provides a unique insight into wildlife conservation from the perspective of an internationally renowned tiger biologist. Karanth opens up the secret world of predators—from wild dogs and leopards to tigers—in Nagarahole. He talks about hours of walking trails in the jungle, setting up camera traps, collecting big cat faeces and examining them: he evokes both the drudgery and the thrill of being a scientist in the wild. His writing is marked by a passionate, yet rational, commitment to saving the animals he works amongst. With his special interest in tigers, Karanth explains with rare clarity the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape predation, and the reasons why predators inevitably come into conflict with humans. He makes a compelling case for effectively protected nature reserves, which he terms 'sacred groves for the new century'. This provocative collection, a tour de force of science-driven conservation advocacy, goes beyond the usual platitudes and political correctness that permeate official and academic conservation today. Karanth's vivid style communicates the excitement of the forest, while his lucidity disentangles complex scientific ideas for general readers.