K. Ullas Karanth

K. Ullas Karanth (born 1948) is a globally renowned conservation zoologist and a leading tiger expert from Karnataka, India. He holds an MS in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida and a PhD in Applied Zoology from Mangalore University. Karanth is celebrated for pioneering the scientific use of camera traps in population density studies of large wild mammals, a methodology now widely adopted worldwide for species like tigers, leopards, and jaguars. He served as the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's India Programme and is the Founder and Emeritus Director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies. His extensive long-term research on the ecology of tigers and their prey, particularly in Nagarhole National Park, has been instrumental in tiger conservation efforts. Karanth has authored seven books, including A View From The Machan (How Science Can Save The Fragile Predator), and over 135 scientific papers. He has received numerous accolades, including the J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership and the Padma Shri.