Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala is an Indian scientist and conservationist who recently ended his tenure as the Dean at the

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of Indi ...

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

. Jhala led a long-term research project on

Asiatic lions The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies ''Panthera leo leo''. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narm ...

. Since 2002, Jhala has been working with National Tiger Conservation Authority

Project Tiger Project Tiger is a wildlife conservation movement initiated in India to protect the endangered tiger. The project was initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India. As of March 2025, there ...

, where he designed and led the implementation of national scale population assessments for tigers, other carnivores, ungulates and monitoring of habitats. The last national assessment of 2018–19, where he led the implementation of scientific components, was accorded a status of the

Guinness world record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the largest wildlife survey with camera traps. He recently retired as the Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, in charge of the conservation initiatives of reintroducing the

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

in India, and conservation breeding of the

Great Indian Bustard The great Indian bustard (''Ardeotis nigriceps'') or Indian bustard is a bustard occurring on the Indian subcontinent. It is a large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs, and is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on th ...

Career

Jhala has worked with Rajesh Gopal and subsequent heads of

He teaches courses in quantitative ecology, population ecology, conservation biology, and field research techniques to Masters, Doctoral and Diploma students at the Wildlife Institute of India.

Awards and distinctions

In December 2023, Jhala was elected a fellow of the

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, also known as NASI, was established in 1930 and is the oldest science academy of India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows * Suddhasatwa Bas ...

(NASI). In December 2022, Jhala was elected a fellow of the Indian National Science Academy

(INSA). His citation read: "''Professor Y V Jhala has been elected a fellow of INSA for his outstanding contribution to and leadership in the field of tiger ecology, conservation and management. Prof. Jhala’s research spans an array of topics including ecology, behaviour, genetics, evolution, participatory conservation and policy on tigers, lions and other large carnivores. His pioneering leadership on the science behind large carnivore census is key to tiger conservation globally. Dr. Jhala has emerged as an important figure in the global effort to conserve, study and manage one of the highest profile endangered species in the world. He has been credibly able to succeed at navigating his outstanding scientific works with the conservation and management of flagship carnivore species in the field.''" Jhala has received the

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Zeiss (company), Zeiss. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted p ...

Award and the Wildlife Service Award-2008 by Sanctuary Asia and

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company () is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest and Ulster Bank. The Royal Bank of Sco ...

for “Tiger Conservation Work in India”. A

accorded to Wildlife Institute of India and

National Tiger Conservation Authority The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a wildlife conservation agency formed to protect the endangered Bengal tiger in India. It was established by the Government of India under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in ...

for the most extensive wildlife survey through trail cameras was bestowed to the 2018–19 tiger survey in India for which Jhala and Prof Qamar Qureshi are the lead scientists.

Filmography

* ''Counting Tigers'', National Geographic Society and iTV, 2019 * ''Great Indian Bustard Documentary'' * ''Decoding the man eaters of Sundarbans'', Animal Planet 2017 * ''Desert Wolves of India'', BBC Wildlife Series, 2004 * ''Man-eaters of India'', National Geographic Television 1997

References

External links

*
Dr. YV Jhala, Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, at Ear to the Wild Foundation AuctionBNHS 133 years - Dr.Y. V. Zala on Wildlife Conservation in IndiaDr. Y.V Jhala presenting a talk at International Conservation Conference, AMULifePage Career Talk on Wildlife Conservation and Science
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jhala, Yadvendradev Vikramsinh 1962 births Living people 20th-century Indian biologists Indian ecologists

Career

Awards and distinctions

Filmography

See also

References

External links