Profiles

Our extensive team comprises of naturalists, guides, trackers, adventurers, photographers, writers, but one thing that binds us is that we love to explore. Each person is an expert in his own field or local area and eager to share his learnings. Though we have worked with premier research institutes, filmmakers and photographers, we believe there's a lot to learn from the average nature enthusiast.

Vikram Singh | Wildlife Promoter

Having spent four years in Ranthambhore, Vikram has traveled extensively all over India and realized that there's a lot more to Indian wildlife than the tiger. Though not a professional photographer, his media background and rich field experience have helped him coordinate many wildlife photography and filming projects. He is part of the biggest awareness program in the country for schoolchildren on Tiger Conservation and regularly visits schools and institutions to conduct workshops on the need for environment protection. Vikram also works as a consultant with various wildlife resorts to promote responsible tourism and helps identify new destinations. Having done his MBA, he handles Business Development and Strategic Planning at Wild World India.

Sumantha Ghosh | Chief Naturalist

After a course in 'Ornithology & Ecology', Ghosh started his wildlife career at Corbett as Wildlife Operation In-charge for Tiger Tops Lodge. He was part of a Forest Dept. sponsored project to control lantana weed from natural glades & canebrakes in Ramnagar Reserve Forest. He has assisted the Corbett Tiger census (5 years), Elephant census, Midwinter Waterfowl census and was associated with The Corbett Foundation, which handles the largest Cattle Compensation Scheme in the world. He tracked down a wounded tigress after a weeklong search and received a letter of appreciation by the Corbett Park Director. He has also worked closely with locals for Mahseer conservation on the Kosi & Ramganga rivers and helped it make a healthy comeback. Ghosh has taken classes on Herpetology and was associated with Calcutta Snake Park. Over the years, he has assisted members of RSPB, World Pheasant Association-UK, Assisi Animal Foundation-USA, Fish & Wildlife Dept.-USA, Berlin Zoo and Savanna Birds of Bolivia to name a few. He has led excursions to most wildlife reserves and high altitude parks like Great Himalayan & Pin Valley National Parks, Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve, Yungthang Sanctuary in Sikkim and Tawang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal. Besides regular wildlife tours, Ghosh has organized over 100 educational trips for school children. At Wild World India, he plans, implements and leads the tours.

Prasanna Gautam | Operation In-charge

After graduating in Arts, Prasanna did his Guide Training Course with Dept of Tourism, DGHC (Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council), followed it up with a Rafting Course on the Teesta and capped it with a Basic Mountaineering Course from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. He then moved to Delhi to fully involve himself in the travel and tourism trade. He has traveled extensively in India, Nepal and Bhutan planning and leading various cultural tours, trekking groups, wildlife tours, bicycle trips and camel & elephant safaris. In association with Earthwatch USA, he has coordinated the Snow Leopard Conservation Project in Rumbak Valley in Ladakh. At Wild World India Prasanna looks after Office Administration and Operations.

Sanjay Khurana | Overseas Promoter

Naturalist, amateur photographer, telecommunications expert, adventure sports enthusiast, Sanjay Khurana is a globetrotter who has traveled extensively through wildlife parks of India, North America, Canada and South America. Currently based in Washington DC, he promotes Wild World India as part of the WWI Overseas Program.

Anurag Mallick | Travel Writer

After four years in advertising, Anurag moved to a youth portal as channel producer of the travel section, building an online community dedicated to offbeat travel in India. Most of his fantastic journeys have been covered on his Roadking motorcycle. Anurag has trekked extensively in Parvati Valley, walked through the Western Ghats, taken a dip at the Maha-Kumbh and hibernated for 2 months in a monastery in Ladakh. In his present avatar he is a freelance writer with Deccan Herald and Outlook Traveler magazine and has been published in the travel guides '75 Hill-Stations of India' and '52 Weekend Breaks from Bangalore'. He is also a keen photographer, an amateur birdwatcher and an expert on Indian history and mythology. For Wild World India he has undertaken field trips to various wildlife parks, developed the site architecture and content.

Field Experts

Lakshmi Mudgal | Naturalist

Perhaps no one knows Bharatpur better than Lakshmi or Panditji, who was born in Bharatpur's Jatoli village, now inside the national park. He started voluntary work with the Forest Department in 1976, officially joined in 1982 and was involved in the Bharatpur Bird Census. In 1987-88, he assisted a Smithsonian funded research project for Iowa & Hawaii State Universities on Wetland Ecology. He has served as a naturalist in Ranthambhore for 3 years, was Research Assistant for Royal Society for Protection of Birds and International Waterfowl Research Bureau. He delivered a lecture at University of Kent on Tourism & Conservation: 'Changing character of Keoladeo Ghana' and wrote on 'Geese of Keoladeo' for Sanctuary Magazine. In 1984, Lakshmi did a study on Lesser Florican and Indian Bustard for Tourism & Wildlife Society of India and later received a citation from the Rajasthan Govt.

Kunwar Singh Rawat | Naturalist

A veteran of Corbett, Kunwar or KD is a modest mountain man from Kumaon currently a resident of Ramnagar town next to Corbett National Park. After an MA in Economics, KD did his guide course in Corbett in 1993 and has since been a part of innumerable bird watching camps as well as the Annual Animal Census at Corbett. He has also attended the bird watching camps in Dudhwa National Park and Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary. KD has led several game viewing expeditions and elephant safaris and has a vast knowledge of Indian flora and fauna. As the Assistant Coordinator of the Uttaranchal Eco-Tourism Project, in association with Mountain Institute of Australia, he promotes villages around wildlife preserves in Uttaranchal as home-stays. Through local participation, he helps create sustainable economic alternatives to natural resource exploitation.

Ashlesh Sharma | Naturalist

Ashlesh was born in jail. That's because his father was the in-charge of the Nimbahera prison in Kota, Rajasthan. Ash completed his education in Jaipur and moved to Bharatpur, where he got a guiding license for the Keoladeo Ghana National Park. He worked there as a naturalist for three years before moving to Ranthambhore in 1989. At that time he was the only licensed Nature Guide in Ranthambhore, a full four years before other guides got their license. Over the years, he has shared his immense knowledge with locals and helped them in becoming successful guides. Ash is by far the best birder in Ranthambhore and being an excellent naturalist and tracker, has helped the Forest Dept. in numerous Census and conservation projects. As an expert in arid ecology, he has worked as a field assistant for many renowned photographers in Ranthambhore, Sariska, Bandhavgarh, Bharatpur and Desert National Park.

Rinchen Wanchuk | Consultant Ladakh area

Rinchen Wanchuk, based in Leh, Ladakh serves as India Field Program Director of Snow Leopard Conservancy and has also assisted the Earth Watch program ‘Land of the Snow Leopard.’ After receiving special training in community-based tourism from the Mountain Institute (Nepal) and RECROFT Thailand, he oversees the projects in local livestock herding communities and provides necessary inputs for developing the ongoing program. His commitment towards the region’s wildlife and the rural people of Ladakh has grown out of his own Ladakhi upbringing and from his experiences as a skilled mountaineer. Armed with a course from Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, he has scaled the 24,660 feet high peak Saser Kangri II in Ladakh’s Nubra region. He has also served as a naturalist and field assistant on several documentaries filmed in Hemis National Park. For Wild World India, Rinchen lends his inputs on our home-stay programs and offers advise on high altitude treks and wildlife of Ladakh.

Anurag & Sujata Goel | Botanists

Sujata has a PhD in Botany from Delhi University and Anurag grew up in Canada, where he did his PhD in Molecular Biology from Toronto University. Combining their research experience in botany, plant biochemistry, genetics, ecology and molecular biology, they have set up an organic rainforest retreat in the Western Ghats. Proceeds from their eco-tourism venture funds WAPRED Research Foundation (Worldwide Association for Preservation and Restoration of Ecological Diversity), an NGO that helps preserve the fragile rainforest eco-system of Coorg, promotes ecological awareness and develops sustainable methods of agriculture. Their major research project is the development and field testing of ecologically friendly botanical pesticides for local crops grown under the shade of rainforest trees. During the heavy monsoons, they migrate to explore other natural areas of the world.

Jijo Mathews | Naturalist

Jijo hails from Kerala and has extensively covered the wildlife parks of South India. An active member of Oriental Bird Club and Bombay Natural History Society, Jijo has been involved in bio-diversity assessment projects carried out by Centre for Ecological Sciences and Indian Institute of Science and is presently working as a Nature Education Officer at Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Jijo has the distinction of being the first to photograph the Nilgiri Thrush (published in the OBC Bulletin) and also the first to record the breeding of Slaty-legged Crake from Kerala.He has been leading birding trips for over 8 years now, covering major birding sites including Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, Koal, Kumarakom, Eravikulam National Park, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Ooty and Koonthankulam, a collective area home to over 450 bird species with a high count of endemics.

Tirath Singh | Naturalist

Tirath completed his Arts Degree from Rajasthan University, followed it up with a Diploma in Nature & Wild Life Interpretation from the Forest Department at Jaipur and continues his informal higher studies at Keoladeo Ghana National Park. He runs a birding lodge at the periphery of the sanctuary in Bharatpur. Tirath has led wildlife and bird watching tours to various parks in India like Corbett, Keoladeo, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Ranthambhore, Periyar, Mudumalai, Nagarahole and Royal Chitwan in Nepal. He has escorted groups like Jungle Odyssey, wildlife tours through Cox & Kings International and specialized tours for Expedition USA, Eco Expedition USA and Boston Museum of Science USA.

Dipendra Gurung | Operations

Dipen hails from Darjeeling and has extensively covered most wildlife parks of north India and Kaziranga, 
Jaldapara, Gorumara, Buxa, Neora Valley National Park and Sandakphu in the North-East. He runs his own lodge at Tinchuley near Darjeeling which is surrounded by broad-leaf temperate forest that supports rich birdlife. Apart from an Adventure Course at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, Dipen has also done an MBA in Marketing. He plays the guitar, is currently based in Delhi and handles marketing, bookings and other operational details.

Gaurav Pandey | Adventure Specialist

Gauri, as he is popularly known, hails from the Kumaon region and is as sure-footed as a mountain goat. He has trained at the Nainital Mountaineering Club and has trekked extensively through the Himalayas in Garhwal and Himachal. Some of the treks he has led in Garhwal are the Nanda Devi East base camp, Sunderdhunga & Pindari glacier, Roop Kund and Kuari Pass. He has also led treks to Kinnar Kailash, Bhaba Pass and the Pin Valley in Himachal Pradesh. At Wild World India, he plans treks and expeditions across different terrain, usually customizing it to suit the fitness level of individuals.

Vinay Badola | Angling Expert

If you want to find out the best fishing beats in India, the different types of Mahseer or whether a fish will come on atta (flour) or live bait, Vinay is the authority on sportfishing in India. An experienced angler who has traveled all over the country, Vinay grew up in Dehradun and runs Otter Reserves, an angling outfit. When not making spinners, spoons and flies or quoting passages from The Rod, he is scouting for new fishing locales. Part of the funds generated go towards releasing fry in rivers and maintaining protected spots on rivers where it's possible to observe wild fish in natural habitats.

Gaurav Jain | Operations

Gaurav is the youngest member of the WWI team. He resides in New Delhi and looks after operations in the office at Delhi, chances are you will be met by him when you first arrive in India. Gaurav has spent considerable time in Ranthambhore and Bharatpur. A keen motorcycle rider and fitness freak, he coordinates a number of field and educational trips for school children to wildlife reserves each year..