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Raman Sukumar is one of the world's leading authorities of the Asian elephant. He has spent nearly 2 decades observing elephants in the wild trying to better understand them. Speaking of his work with elephants and its importance, Sukumar states, "Many species are claimed to be flagships for conservation. But no species can make stronger claim to this than the Asian elephant. If the tiger is the spirit of the jungle, the elephant is its body. Elephants are beloved locally and globally. They prosper in large forests that are home to a great number of plant and animal species."
As a high school student, Sukumar first started to think about working in the field of conservation. His grandmother used to call him vanavasi (the Tamil word for "forest dweller"). It was not until he had to choose a research topic in college that he began to study elephants. This was when he began to study the conflict between human and elephant use of the same land. Unless this conflict could be understood and resolved, elephants would not have a chance to survive in the wild.
Sukumar is now the Deputy Chairman of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group of IUCN (World Conservation Union). As Deputy Chairman he oversees the surveys of elephant habitats. He works with the countries where the Asian elephant is found to plan conservation strategies, and to find ways to resolve human-elephant conflicts.
By focusing on the elephant, Sukumar's work will also help to preserve many more species in the elephant's habitat.
Sukumar lives and works in India with his wife and daughters. If you have questions for Sukumar about the wildlife of India, you may reach him by e-mail: rsuku@ces.iisc.ernet.in.
Learn more about the animals of India:
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