Dr. Krithi K. Karanth is a globally recognised conservation scientist, filmmaker, and institutional leader with 28 years of research experience across Asia. She serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Wildlife Studies and Professor at Duke University. Her research spans the human dimensions of wildlife conservation, including species extinctions, wildlife tourism, resettlement, land-use change, and human–wildlife interactions.
Dr. Karanth has published over 100 scientific and popular articles, served as editor for several global scientific journals, mentored more than 300 young scientists, and trained 750 citizen science volunteers worldwide. She has designed several award-winning programmes, including Wild Seve, Wild Shaale, Wild Surakshe, Adopt-a-PHC, and Wild Carbon. As a storyteller and filmmaker, she has co-produced documentaries including Wild Seve, Humane Highways, Flying Elephants, and Wild Surakshe, with her work featured on National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, CBC, and PBS, as well as in over 500 global media outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and NPR.
Her more than 50 awards and fellowships include the National Geographic Explorer, Aspen, WEF Young Global Leader, and Eisenhower fellowships. In 2019, she received the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, and in 2021 became the first Asian woman to receive the Wild Innovator Award. Dr. Karanth and CWS were awarded the John P. McNulty Prize in 2025, and in 2026 she became the first Asian recipient of the Esmond B. Martin Royal Geographical Society Prize. Dr. Karanth holds a Ph.D. from Duke University, an M.E.Sc. from Yale University, and executive training from Harvard, Oxford, and Stanford.
