Zookeeper-turned-conservation cynologist Kartik Arun Thevar on what set his career in motion

A conservationist's journey from studying zoology to training dogs for wildlife conservation.

The next in the monthly series by WWF-India that highlights niche and unconventional green careers through the stories of well-known personalities from the field of environment and conservation

Growing up, who wasn’t inspired by the conservationist Steve Irwin on Animal Planet? Watching his love for animals drove me to study Zoology and, later, wildlife conservation in Mumbai. I would often rescue small animals and birds around my neighbourhood. Soon, I landed my first wildlife job guiding tours at Kanha National Park. Each step of my career path since then has been dedicated to working closely with animals, understanding their needs, and exploring new ways to support their survival.

Volunteering with local forest departments, one memory stands out. I once visited a zoo, where a leopard was pacing and panting. I sat near the enclosure; after a while, the leopard came over and lay close to me in a way that almost felt like trust. It reminded me of a dog’s behaviour and got me thinking: could we reduce stress in captive animals through consistent, positive interactions?

This became my research motivation: to explore how to improve the mental well-being of captive and rescued animals and use enrichment techniques to encourage more natural behaviours. This idea turned into my thesis on enrichment practises for rescued snow leopards in Ladakh. After this, I expanded my research to birds of prey like eagles and falcons, tigers, leopards, and even sloth bears! I trained them using olfactory stimulation such as spices, introduced objects, and built trust to reshape human-animal interaction.

While in Ladakh, a situation involving wildlife poaching shifted my career focus. Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t solve the case due to a lack of evidence. This got me thinking about how trained dogs could help track and detect wildlife articles. I started training Agni, my Belgian Malinois, to work in wildlife detection, and eventually joined WWF-India’s Wildlife Sniffer Dog programme.

This is how my journey as a conservation cynologist — someone specialising in canine training and behaviour for conservation — was set in motion. Conservation cynology leverages dogs for various purposes: tracking wildlife contraband, locating endangered animals, and even biosecurity, preventing invasive species from entering new habitats.

I’ve found such an incredible partner in Agni; her keen senses and joyful spirit make every discovery a victory. When she finds the article she’s trained for, her excitement is boundless, almost as if she’s celebrating with me. One project involved detecting the presence of Ganges river dolphin oil, which is used to waterproof boats. We trained her to identify the distinct smell of dolphin oil, even when it was mixed in water. This should help save dolphins from being hunted to extract the oil.