Ekta Shekhawat

Ekta Shekhawat is a wildlife researcher with hands-on experience across multiple prestigious conservation organizations in India. Currently serving as a Project Associate at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (since September 2024), she is engaged in a cumulative impact assessment and mitigation planning for the proposed Hubballi-Ankola Railway Line. Prior to this, she worked as a Junior Research Biologist at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, contributing to bird and wildlife hazard mitigation projects at AAI airports. From July 2023 to May 2024, Ekta was associated with the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, as a Junior Project Fellow under the "Wetlands and Flyways Programme." Her earlier experiences include volunteering for the Terai Tiger Project with the Wildlife Trust of India and working as a Project Assistant at Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, where she supported wetland habitat development for migratory Demoiselle Cranes.

Her academic journey reflects a strong foundation in avian research, having completed an M.Sc. in Wildlife Science from Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, where she also earned diplomas in the basics of ornithology and birding. Her M.Sc. dissertation focused on the nest site selection and nest characteristics of the Yellow-footed Green-pigeon in the Central Aravalli foothills. Ekta possesses diverse technical skills, including bird ringing, species identification, habitat assessment, GIS mapping (QGIS), R programming, Google Earth Engine, and scientific writing. She has also participated in multiple capacity-building programs and workshops on biodiversity, environmental conservation, and geospatial tools. With a strong commitment to field-based conservation and ecological research, she continues to deepen her expertise in wildlife ecology and avian studies.