Talk on Hyena Study in West Bengal

8 September, 2022

Vasudha Mishra explaining the nuances of the project

Our member Vasudha Mishra was invited as a guest speaker for a session on ‘The lesser known stripes of Bengal’, organised by the Nature Club at SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Mumbai on September 8. She talked about HEAL’s Striped Hyena Project which is currently underway in the dry landscapes of Purulia.

Drawing on the importance of perceptions in conservation, she spoke about how the Striped Hyena is a species in peril; viewed throughout its global range with fear and loathing and shrouded in misconceptions. This was followed by a discussion about the perception study being conducted in Purulia as a part of the Striped Hyena Project and how the findings from the study will be utilised to design conservation interventions that will help raise the profile of the widely misunderstood species and promote human-hyena coexistence in the landscape.