I am a wildlife researcher from Nepal born in an indigenous Gurung community of Ghanpokhara which is a village situated within the Annapurna Conservation Area. I studied the influence of land use and cover on Barn Owl occurrence in Kathmandu valley for my MSc Zoology dissertation (with EMEM Aves award) at Tribhuvan University (with specialization in ecology and environment).

I have experience working with a wide range of wildlife species including amphibians, birds (specially Barn owl), bats, rodents, pangolins, primates while also involving in landscape level biodiversity surveys. For the last four years, I have worked for the Small Mammal Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF) as a researcher on projects relating pangolin conservation and human-primate conflict.

I am particularly interested in studying predator-prey dynamics, human-wildlife conflict, human dimensions in nature conservation and sustainable co-existence. I dream of creating a platform to connect diverse sectors together for better ideas and solutions. Getting an opportunity to study at the University of Oxford is a fantastic opportunity for me. I believe that the ‘PGDip at WildCRU” will be an excellent course pertaining to my career need. With the knowledge, skills and networking gathered during the course, I anticipate to come up with better contributions for wildlife research and conservation in Nepal.