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A Panther to Celebrate

David Macdonald celebrates the remarkable achievements of Naresh Kusi, WildCRU Panther 2018: we rejoice in the achievements, and global impact, of our Panthers – there are almost one hundred of them now, all working for conservation around the world. We are always thrilled to hear of their accomplishments and in the case of Naresh, to receive the letter, below, that announces his appointment as Country Director of the Himalayan Wolf Project.

Naresh Kusi writes:

I am a WildCRU panther from the 2018 batch. For the diploma project I analysed questionnaire surveys conducted in the Himalayan communities of Nepal from 2014 to 2016 during the fieldwork for the Himalayan Wolves Project (HWP). This is a project founded by WildCRU’s Geraldine Werhahn to advance the science and conservation of the Himalayan wolf and the associate ecosystems. I have worked with the project since 2014 especially being involved in the extensive research expeditions to remote Himalayan regions of Nepal to find wolves and other mammals.

The Postgraduate Diploma at WildCRU has been the most rewarding learning experience so far in my career as a wildlife conservation biologist. The course has helped me become more dedicated and focused as a conservation professional and eventually led me to take on the role as the Country Programme Director for HWP in April 2020.

HWP has an on-going conservation research project in upper Humla, north-western Nepal. This project is built up on the team’s previous researches and aims to foster a positive coexistence of the traditional Buddhist communities and the wildlife living in the remote regions of the Himalayas. We work closely with the local communities and the national stakeholders to pilot conservation actions like the construction of predator-proof livestock corrals and installation of fox lights. We also conduct camera trapping and fecal DNA surveys with an aim to develop the most cost-efficient method to monitor the Himalayan wolves, conduct surveys of wild prey populations and also study wolf behaviour.

For details about the Himalayan Wolves Project, visit the website here.