Our naturalists
The people who lead the naturalist departures, and who are in these forests every week of the season.
Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh
Priyanka S Murthy
Senior naturalist and camp host in Kanha. She left city life for the Nilgiris, ran a wildlife lodge in Masinagudi, helped set up and guide a camp in the Little Rann of Kutch, and trained with Taj Safaris before working Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna and Kanha.
Safaris, walks, interpretive storytelling and hosting — and an operations background, which is the reason the days run the way they do.
Central India · based in Pune
Swanand Deshpande
Naturalist and expedition leader, more than fifteen years in the field. Six of them as a resident naturalist with Pugdundee Safaris across Kanha, Satpura, Pench and Tadoba, and tours in India and Bhutan with Naturetrek, Wildlife Worldwide and Nature's Nomad.
He also teaches: bird identification guides in Gujarat, the PRONAT naturalist training programme, and photography workshops in the field.
From the reviews
What guests say about the team
The reviews are unusually consistent on this point, without being asked: "the guides and drivers on his team were incredibly passionate about their jobs", "the teams he works with for the driver and local guide are hardworking, get what we want, and are such nice guys", and "our incredible drivers and guides, who regularly tracked the tigers to the alarm calls coming from the langurs and the deer".