Raman Sukumar
Ecologist, Elephantologist & Conservationist
Who am I
I consider myself as an ecologist with a passion for elephants which have led me into the world of tropical forests and climate change. Until the age of 15 years my interests were in aircraft and spacecraft but these dreams suddenly crashed down to earth! I am not entirely sure whether this flipflop was due to my growing interest in geography and photography, my family vacations to our grandparents' home near the biodiverse Agasthyamalai or seeing the twin elephant calves Vijay and Sujay within hours of their birth to Devaki at the Theppakadu camp on 20th May 1971 on my first visit to Mudumalai National Park. Perhaps this triggered my lifelong passion for elephants.
My Education and Experience
I completed high school at Madras (now Chennai). With undergraduate and graduate degrees in Botany from the University of Madras, I enrolled in a doctoral programme in ecology at the Indian Institute of Science in 1979. This provided me the opportunity to study elephant ecology and interactions with people, an experience which shaped my thinking on nature conservation. My research, fieldwork, professional engagements and wanderlust have taken me to all continents except Antarctica, from the heart of the Congo forests to the southern Andes and the trans-Himalaya, providing valuable insights into the natural world and an appreciation of diverse cultures. My academic journey includes stints at esteemed universities such as Princeton, Columbia and Kyoto, and association with many national and international conservation organizations.
Vision
Science: To strive for excellence in the pursuit of science
Conservation: To promote sustainable landscapes with space for wildlife and people in a manner that is best suited to a country’s national circumstances.
Major Awards
My major international awards include the Order of the Golden Ark (The Netherlands, 1997), Whitley Gold Award for International Nature Conservation (U.K, 2003) and the International Cosmos Prize (Japan, 2006). As a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, I also received a replica of the Nobel Peace Prize (2007) the IPCC shared with Al Gore. I was elected to the fellowship of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2013. My notable national recognitions include the TN Khoshoo Memorial Award (2004), election to all the major science academies in India, and the National Science Chair professorship of Science & Engineering Research Board (2022-25).
