#44 The Thing About Queer Wildlifers

On this episode, I speak with 3 fabulous queer wildlifers - all of whom you've heard from before during our second season from early 2022! The fields of wildlife conservation and biology are full of diversity, and I have some of those examples for you today. First up, we have Taniya Gill, who you first met in episode 16: The Thing About Personalities. Taniya is a doctoral candidate from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Delhi, and works closely with urban rhesus macaques of Delhi, where she studies their myriad personalities. Next, we have Ishaan Patil from episode 18: The Thing About Getting Started. Ishaan is a multi-talented, multi-faceted individual who has already forayed into several avenues of the conservation space: from environmental education and better understanding hornbills to social sciences and social justice at the James Hutton Institute. And then, from Season-2 Episode 19: The Thing About Landscape Avifauna, we were joined by Jobin Varughese. Landscape architect turned birder and ecologist, he is nearly Dr Jobin at the moment - having completed his doctoral work since we last spoke at IISER Thirupathi. Together, we spoke at length about our collective queer experiences and how they link into our careers! If you haven't heard the episodes I just mentioned yet, do give them a listen after this one! The work that Taniya, Ishaan and Jobin do is truly fantastic, interdisciplinary and inspiring! If you are a queer-identifying individual in the field of ecology/conservation, do consider joining the Indian Queer Wildlifers Circle! To be a part of this group - one that respects your anonymity and keeps your identity confidential - please write in to me at thethingaboutwildlife.com or DM me on any of our socials! We are currently a group that is over 80 members strong, and we're still growing. Remember, you're not alone - we're all in this together.