Conservationist Krithi Karanth has become the first Indian to be named the 2026 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year for her wildlife work.
Krithi K. Karanth has spent years working closely with wildlife and the people living around forests in India. From helping farmers deal with crop damage caused by animals to teaching children how to safely live near tigers and elephants, her work has focused on reducing conflict between humans and wildlife.
Now, the conservationist has received one of the biggest global honours in the field. The National Geographic Society has named her the 2026 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, making her the first Indian to receive the title. The announcement was made in Mumbai on May 6, this year.
She Works With Both People And Wildlife
Karanth is the CEO of the Bengaluru-based Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), a non-profit organisation that works to protect wildlife across India. Her work focuses on helping people and wild animals live side by side peacefully, especially in areas close to forests and reserves.
India is home to nearly half of Asia’s elephants and around three-fourths of the world’s wild tigers. But with growing human populations and shrinking spaces, clashes between people and animals have become more common.
To deal with this, Karanth and her team created a support system called Wild Seve. The programme helps people file compensation claims when wild animals damage crops, livestock or property. Families can call a toll-free number, after which trained field workers visit the area, record the damage and help complete the paperwork.
So far, the initiative has helped around 17,000 families receive compensation. Karanth believes this also reduces anger towards animals and lowers the chances of people harming wildlife in retaliation.
Speaking about the issue, she said, “How do you make sure people are not injured, they’re not killed, they don’t have economic losses? Because when any of that happens, anger builds, and they want to retaliate against the animal” as per National Geographic.