Wildhub as a window to conservation
I’m Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal, a herpetologist from Bhutan with over 25 years of experience in wildlife conservation. I specialize in studying and conserving reptiles and amphibians. Excited to connect, share knowledge, and collaborate with you all!
I understand that WildHub is an invaluable platform for conservation professionals, facilitating the sharing of knowledge, experiences, and best practices globally. It connects conservationists, enabling them to collaborate, access up-to-date research, and learn from each other’s successes and challenges. WildHub supports members by offering networking opportunities, capacity-building resources, and a community where they can seek advice and mentorship from experienced professionals. This collaborative approach helps address common conservation challenges such as funding shortages, limited expertise, and lack of collaboration among organizations.
This supportive environment can enhance your work by providing access to a vast network of conservationists and a wealth of practical information that can help refine your conservation strategies. Engaging with WildHub can inspire new ideas, foster professional growth, and ultimately contribute to more effective conservation efforts worldwide. I hope to learn a lot here.
For unintentionally setting free a non-venomous injured wolf snake from my room, my college mates call me Snake-man because by doing so, they assumed I endangered their lives. You can find me with wild animals in the mountains, valleys, or plains because our addresses are somehow the same. Outside my job, I do herping and anyone who wants information on this group of animals besides other biodiversity, climate, and social science can contact me any time. Rest, I follow Allan Rufus’ dictum “Life is like a sandwich, birth as one slice and death as the other. What you put in between the slices is up to you. Is your sandwich tasty or sour?” So, it is me who makes my sandwich! Education-wise, I have a PhD Ecosystem Management (University of New England, Armidale, Australia), MSc Biodiversity, Wildlife, and Ecosystem Health (Edinburgh University, Scotland, UK), PG Diploma (Hons), Wildlife Management (Wildlife Institute of India), BSc Forestry (Royal University of Bhutan), and High Standard Professional Certificate (Forest Rangers' Course), Northeast Forest Rangers' College, Jalukbari, Assam (now Central Academy for State Forest Service, Burnihat, Assam, India). All my life, I studied Nature Conservation and related Ecological and Environmental Sciences and live to see how rapidly they change. I can do many things many people can do!
I have been recently immortalized by a team of taxonomists from the British Museum as they named a torrent frog (Amolops wangyali) from eastern Bhutan after me based on the work I have done on Bhutan amphibians. Thus, frogs in military jackets around Trashigang may carry my name as their specific species epithet. But more than rejoicing, I feel stressed because I feel I should do more in this area and I don't have much time. So, you know...!
