All WCS supported research activities are carried out by local partners. All core projects are executed by Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) and the rest are in collaboration with partners like Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Tiger Conservation and Action Trust (TRACT), ENVIROSEARCH, etc.

Short-term projects are carried out by outside researchers funded by WCS Research Fellowship Projects (RFP) out of New York, or the India Program Small Grants (IPSG).



Long-term WCS research projects have focused on charismatic landscape species: tiger, leopard, dhole, elephants and other large ungulates.

WCS focus has been on studies of tiger behavior and long-term population dynamics of tigers, leopards and their ungulate and primate prey species. In view of the lack of baseline data on densities of these species, establishing benchmark estimates in representative sites/biomes across India has been accorded priority.


Another core aspect of WCS-India research has been development of rigorous methods to monitor wildlife populations. Rather than reinventing the wheel, the emphasis has been on adopting well-developed, cutting-edge methods with a solid theoretical foundation, to the local/regional conditions.

The development of innovative techniques to capture tigers and leopards for radio telemetry, line transect surveys of a variety of species and camera-trap based capture recapture surveys of tigers, leopards and hyenas have been some pioneering products of WCS-India backed, research.