Aparajita Datta

Aparajita Datta (born 1970) is an Indian wildlife ecologist who works for the Nature Conservation Foundation. Her research in the dense tropical forests of Arunachal Pradesh has successfully focused on hornbills, saving them from poachers. In 2013, she was one of eight conservationists to receive the Whitley Award. She is also a Co-Chair of the IUCN Hornbill Specialist Group.

Biography Born in Kolkata on 5 January 1970, in 1978 she moved with her family to Lusaka, Zambia, where her father worked as an accountant. Noticing her interest in nature, her teacher at the International School of Lusaka gave her special attention, inviting her to the school's zoo club. After five years in Africa, the family returned to India where, after completing high school, she studied botany at Presidency University, Kolkata. On graduating, she joined the Wildlife Institute of India where she earned a master's degree in wildlife ecology in 1993. While at the university, she met another wildlife ecology student, Charudutt Mishra, whom she married in 1999. 2009: Women of Discovery Humanity Award for community-based conservation efforts 2013: Whitley Award

Books

At the Feet of Living Things: Twenty-Five Years of Wildlife Research and Conservation in India, Edited by Aparajita Datta, Rohan Arthur, and T. R. Shankar Raman (2022). HarperCollins, Gurugram, 378 pages. . Trees of Arunachal Pradesh: A Field Guide, by Navendu Page, Aparajita Datta, and Bibidishananda Basu (2022). Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru, 591 pages. .