Kartick Satyanarayan’s love of the natural world began early in life; he spent his youth rescuing animals and exploring the forest near his Bangalore home. In 1995 he founded Wildlife SOS with Geeta Seshamani, dedicating this non-profit organization to protecting India’s environmental and wildlife resources from unsustainable exploitation. Wildlife SOS changed Indian history by rescuing over 600 performing ‘dancing bears’.
Kartick Satyanarayan is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS. He is a Member of the IUCN Bear Specialist Group (Sloth Bear Team Expert), the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, the State Wildlife Advisory Board of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, the State Wildlife Advisory Board of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Central Zoo Authority’s Captive Elephant Evaluation Committee and the Executive Board of Friendicoes- SECA in New Delhi. He is a Member of the Government of India’s Central Zoo Authority (2007-2015) and an Honorary Wildlife Warden of the Government of NCT Delhi.
He is a TED International Fellow and recipient of the prestigious Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar Award.
Kartick’s current focus is the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict in India through a series of workshops in bear habitat communities. Educating people about how to avoid animal conflict while fostering an appreciation for wildlife will save human and animal lives and enhance conservation of India’s natural resources.