--- title: "A 1,200-Km Ride Led to Protecting Tigers and Vultures" url: https://projectchintan.com/article/one-thousand-two-hundred-km-conservation-ride-2ti6j publisher: Project Chintan author: Project Chintan Newsroom section: Science & Technology published: 2026-08-17T08:03:07.365Z modified: 2026-08-17T10:00:07.799Z language: en-IN --- # A 1,200-Km Ride Led to Protecting Tigers and Vultures A conservationist rode over 1,200 kilometers from Mumbai to Rajasthan in 2002, catalyzing a career focused on vultures and tigers. His work expanded from species surveys to anti-poaching, community rehabilitation, and leadership of Tiger Watch. ## Key takeaways - A lengthy travel milestone in 2002 helped catalyze a long-running conservation career focused on India’s vultures and tigers. - Tiger numbers at Ranthambhore rose from 18 in 2005 to about 70 by 2020 due to integrated protection and monitoring efforts. - An anti-poaching intelligence network linked to seizures and arrests underpinned enforcement and wildlife trafficking disruption. - Conservation work extended to community programs, including education and alternative livelihoods for local families. - Vulture declines in the 1990s, linked to diclofenac, spurred national conservation centers and breeding initiatives. ## What Happened Dr Dharmendra Khandal undertook a solo journey exceeding 1,200 kilometers from Mumbai to Churu, Rajasthan, in 2002. The trip highlighted the rapid decline of vulture populations in India. His subsequent career expanded from surveying species to leading tiger protection efforts, habitat conservation, and community rehabilitation initiatives. He joined Tiger Watch in Ranthambhore as a field director under Fateh Singh Rathore, later taking on a leadership role at Tiger Watch in Ranthambhore. His work in Ranthambhore occurred alongside broader wildlife surveys and studies, including leopard research and vulture conservation across western India. During his tenure, the Ranthambhore reserve had 18 tigers in 2005, with the population rising to about 70 by 2020 due to protection, monitoring, and anti-poaching work. He also built an anti-poaching intelligence network that contributed to wildlife contraband seizures and the arrest of poachers. Beyond enforcement, he engaged with Mogiya families to expand access to education, skills training, and alternative livelihoods as part of conservation-driven community reform. His early work on vultures, supported by surveys documenting a >95% decline in the 1990s due to diclofenac poisoning in livestock, helped underpin conservation centers and breeding efforts for vultures across the country. His broader efforts include leopard studies, invasive plant research, and wildlife surveys spanning western India. ## Why It Matters The combination of field survey work, anti-poaching initiatives, and community rehabilitation illustrates how long-term conservation depends on both protecting wildlife and addressing the human factors that affect habitats and livelihoods. The growth in tiger numbers at Ranthambhore from 2005 to 2020 signals the potential impact of integrated protection and monitoring programs. Leadership in Tiger Watch amplified the reach of anti-poaching intelligence and collaborative partnerships, contributing to seizures and arrests tied to wildlife trafficking. ## Background Dr Khandal began his wildlife career by documenting vulture decline in the 2000s, a period when vultures faced dramatic population drops linked to diclofenac poisoning in livestock. His trajectory moved from species-focused surveys to broader conservation efforts, including tiger protection and community-based conservation strategies. The Ranthambhore reserve, where he worked, has been a center for tiger protection efforts and anti-poaching work, with a noted tiger population increase over the years. ## Key Facts - Dr Dharmendra Khandal rode more than 1,200 kilometers from Mumbai to Churu, Rajasthan, in 2002. - Vulture populations declined by over 95% in the 1990s due to diclofenac poisoning in livestock, a trend his surveys helped document. - Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve had 18 tigers in 2005 and about 70 tigers by 2020 due to protection, monitoring, and anti-poaching efforts. - He joined Tiger Watch in Ranthambhore as a field director under Fateh Singh Rathore and later led Tiger Watch at Ranthambhore. - He built an anti-poaching intelligence network that supported wildlife contraband seizures and arrests of poachers. - His work extended to community rehabilitation through education, skills training, and alternative livelihoods for Mogiya families, in addition to leopard studies and vulture conservation across western India. ## What Happens Next The available material describes ongoing leadership in Tiger Watch at Ranthambhore and continued conservation work across western India. Specific future actions or schedules beyond the described leadership roles and ongoing programs are not outlined in the material. --- Canonical: https://projectchintan.com/article/one-thousand-two-hundred-km-conservation-ride-2ti6j Reported from: Multiple Sources