Field team

Naturalist Team

The people who turn walks, safaris, birds, signs, and seasons into meaningful nature experiences.

Active retreat naturalists

Guides who know how to listen before they speak.

Head Naturalist

Mayuresh Joshi

Born and raised in Nagpur, the Tiger Capital of India, Mayuresh Joshi grew up exploring the region's rich biodiversity, developing an early fascination with its flora and fauna. Through his school and college years, he volunteered alongside the Forest Department in the rescue and rehabilitation of urban wildlife, and led birding walks and student tours to tiger reserves across central India.

After graduating, he chose the field over a conventional career and has spent more than ten years as a naturalist with respected wildlife lodges across Bandhavgarh, Kanha, and Pench. Now back in Tadoba - the landscape where he has spent much of his career observing natural history in the making - Mayuresh brings deep regional knowledge, sharp field instincts, and a genuine gift for connecting guests to the wild.

Naturalist, Red Earth Kabini

Manju Admel

Manju belongs to the Betta Kuruba indigenous community, whose people lived in the Nagarhole forests for generations before resettlement. The forest is his heritage, his home, his bloodline.

He reads the jungle intuitively, the way you might read your childhood neighborhood. With Manju, the forest reveals itself: a bent twig, a distant call, a scent on the wind. He shares the magic of belonging to this land rather than just showing you wildlife.

Naturalist, Red Earth Wayanad

Vineeth

Vineeth was born and raised in Periya, Wayanad, in an agricultural family of the Kurichiya community, one of the oldest indigenous communities of the Western Ghats. For the Kurichiya, life has always followed the rhythms of the land: sowing and harvest, monsoon and dry season, forest and field.

That inheritance shapes how Vineeth sees the wild. Though he went on to earn a B.Com degree, his heart stayed rooted in the hills he grew up in. For the past five years, he has been part of the Red Earth Wayanad family, sharing a knowledge of this landscape that no textbook could teach.

With Vineeth, you don't just walk through Wayanad. You see it through the eyes of someone who has always belonged to it.

Naturalist

Agnes T. Sebastian

Agnes T. Sebastian is a naturalist with a Master's in Zoology and a deep, wide-ranging knowledge of wildlife. Her fascination with the natural world began with Odonata - dragonflies and damselflies - which remain a particular area of expertise. Over time, her focus expanded to include birds, mammals, and the ecological relationships that connect them.

As a naturalist, Agnes brings a sharp eye for detail and a genuine curiosity to every encounter in the field. Guiding guests through wildlife habitats and sharing her knowledge of the region's biodiversity, she has had the privilege of observing tigers in the wild - one of the most rewarding experiences of her career.

Naturalist, Red Earth Tadoba

Sanath

Born and raised in Chandrapur, the district with India's highest tiger population, Sanath grew up surrounded by tigers. Not in the core zones of Tadoba, but in the buffer forests and villages where tigers live among people, hunting livestock because prey is scarce. This proximity sharpened his tracking instincts to razor precision. On safari with Sanath, guests are never disappointed. He knows where to look, when to wait, how to listen.

Naturalist & Wildlife Photographer, Red Earth Tadoba

Saurav

Saurav has led cycling expeditions and mountain treks across the Himalaya and guided safaris at The Woods at Sasan and Taj Safaris. At Red Earth Tadoba, he brings that range of field experience to every drive and walk. He reads the forest's signs, shares the stories behind each sighting, and helps guests photograph wildlife the way he sees it: patiently and up close.

Naturalist, Hullathy by Red Earth, The Nilgiris

Dhiyanshu Joel Ram

Dhiyanshu studied Interior Design, but his heart was always in the jungle. After a year in the profession, he made the switch - trading blueprints for binoculars, design studios for dense forests. Still early in his journey, Dhiyanshu brings youthful energy and an eagerness to learn that's infectious. He absorbs knowledge like the forest floor absorbs rain, always curious, always expanding his understanding of the wild.

Mentors

Learning shaped by respected voices in nature and photography.

Naturalist, Author, Photographer

Sandesh Kadur

We are lucky to have Sandesh, a well-known Indian wildlife producer and conservation photographer by our side. His passion for visual imagery has made him leave a mark in the industry, with his contributions to BBC Planet Earth and also his films being telecasted on various wildlife channels. He is a member of the International League of Conservation Photographers and director of Felis Creations and aims to create content for the conservation of the planet and its biodiversity.

Wildlife Biologist

Priya Singh

Priya Singh is an independent wildlife biologist based out of Bangalore. She graduated with a degree in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from the Post-graduate program offered by WCS-India and the National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR), Bangalore in 2008. Currently, her primary interest lies in carnivore communities in the Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspot. Yet another interest of hers is the hidden world of little creatures. Priya trains our naturalists in the nuances of moths, ticks, fleas, and leeches.

Wildlife Photographer

Sudhir Shivaram

Sudhir Shivaram is well-known and respected in Indian and international wildlife photography circles. Engineer by training, photographer by passion, teacher by intuition, Sudhir inspires many to chase their dreams. A long and lucrative career in IT didn't diminish Sudhir's passion for photography; it kept him in touch with his wild side. He left the corporate jungle for the real one. Asian Photography Magazine has named him one of India's 10 most influential photographers.