A new season of the 'The Thing About Wildlife' podcast delves into the contributions of individuals identifying as LGBTQIA+ in the fields of ecology and conservation.
'The Thing About Wildlife' was started in July 2021 to discuss the behind-the-scenes stories of real-life wildlife experts. (Supplied)
Ever wondered what the journey of an individual in the intersection of being a wildlife expert and a queer female would be like?
Did you know that scores of ecologists and conservationists identifying as LGBTQIA+ wade through specific challenges because of their sexualities or gender positioning?
The space of wildlife is huge and is also home to a diverse set of environmentalists. Their journeys that result in devoting their lives to the study and preservation of nature are, however, rarely documented.
Ishika Ramakrishna is changing that through her podcast, The Thing About Wildlife. Started in July 2021 to bring the behind-the-scenes stories of real-life wildlife experts, it recently dropped its fourth and latest season that emphasises the fabulous works of queer-identifying individuals in the natural world.
“The risks of being openly and visibly queer are very real — a topic that I’ve been keen to discuss on The Thing About Wildlife for a long time now,” Ishika tells South First.
“Being queer myself, I know the challenges associated with this firsthand and through the eyes of my peers. Using my podcast as a much-needed platform to amplify these voices and the fantastic work that these people are doing was a no-brainer,” she says.
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Ishika has a BSc in Life Sciences from St Xavier’s College in Mumbai. She has also interned at wildlife and animal welfare NGOs like the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust in Ladakh and the Welfare of Stray Dogs in Mumbai.
Currently, she is a Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Wildlife Studies in Bengaluru.
“Each voice matters. Every story matters,” she says, adding, “Visibility matters.”
And so, whether through public personalities or stories kept confidential and anonymous, Ishika highlights queer representation in ecology and conservation through the fourth instalment of her podcast series, The Thing About Wildlife.
Under this, there are five episodes out so far on Spotify (and other streaming platforms like Google and Amazon), and she hopes to have another one or two added by next month.
Ishika, a second-generation Tamilian-Telugu woman, was born and brought up in Mumbai. She moved to Sahakar Nagar in Bengaluru in 2016 and the Garden City has been her home since.
“I live within a radius surrounding the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the offices of other wildlife NGOs based in the city. It is affectionately referred to as ‘wildlife nagar’ by several people from the field who also live in and around this same region,” she says, with a smile.
Growing up, having both parents inclined towards animal welfare naturally charted a course for Ishika into the field of conservation.
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“I grew up with several pets at home,” she remembers. “I used to do a lot of rescue work around Mumbai city as I got older — from birds to hamsters to street dogs and squirrels.”
Her interest was piqued when she began reading the lived experiences of some pioneering ecologists like Jane Goodall, Billy Arjan Singh, Robert Sapolsky, and Franz de Waal.
“When I got older and discovered that a career connected to nature was a real possibility, I chased it. Luckily, I also loved science and biology. So, I studied life sciences and ultimately ended up formally learning how to work with wildlife during my Master’s.”
The idea of starting The Thing About Wildlife was planted in 2016, when Ishika was studying wildlife biology and conservation at NCBS.
“My batchmate, Akshay Surendra, and I were exposed to the science and conservation practice of diverse individuals from these fields. We found that the work of ‘wildlifers’ is recorded in peer-reviewed academic journals, book chapters, or informal articles in popular magazines.”
While these are of immense importance, she points out that they portray only the “final product of painstaking bodies of work”.
“From our own experiences, we knew that more goes on behind-the-scenes than is ever communicated. This leaves out a crucial component of science communication and environmental storytelling.”
In 2020, the duo began talking to ecologists, social scientists, and conservationists about their untold tales.
“What was their first-ever experience in the field like? Were they ever disillusioned by science? What inspires them to keep fighting conservation battles even after losing so many? What daily trials of fieldwork — amusing or frustrating — have they survived? The answers proved to be insightful, moving, awe-inspiring, and, importantly, entertaining,” adds the 29-year-old.
From these conversations sprung forth The Thing About Wildlife — a biographical podcast for wildlife lovers.
While Akshay and Ishika collaborated on a successful Season 1, she carried their vision forward on her own over the next three seasons.
The third season was very unique. It delved into the depths and expanses of life across the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in India.
“From fisheries and coral reefs to cetaceans and monkeys, the season covered a range of topics. It was incredibly fun to dedicate an entire season to just a single archipelago, and I hope to do more such geographically-specific seasons in the upcoming years,” she says.
Equality, equity, and justice are essential to conservation science. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community have struggled in the field of science due to attitudes towards their sexuality.
How does Ishika tap into this topic in her latest season, we ask.
“Now, there is more awareness and dialogue about LGBTQIA+ representation and rights. However, there’s still a long way to go,” she says.
“Most places get away with tokenism and the bare minimum, with a peppering of lip service. On the bright side, some places have added clauses to their policies. This safeguards queer students and employees from discrimination and harassment.”
Ishika regards LGBTQIA+ representation in science as extremely important.
“Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community are continually marginalised and discriminated against. The systems within which we work are built to exclude and work against us. Safety is also an issue. The erasure of queer ‘wildlifers’ affects both the individuals and the quality of science that can be done,” she asserts.
To understand the challenges the community faces, Ishika recommends readers listen to the podcast episodes.
With four seasons down, she has had the opportunity to collaborate and talk to about 50 incredible wildlifers. And she has only begun!
“Season 5 is already being produced and will be released later this year. There are hundreds of incredible folks in the fields of wildlife and conservation. I want to talk to as many people as possible. Hopefully, with more resources, I would like to transcribe all the episodes and create a living, growing archive of people’s stories from wildlife from the country,” she signs off.
Listen to ‘The Thing About Wildlife’ on Spotify. For more unscripted conversations, visit @ishikamacaca and @thethingaboutwildlife
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