Elephant Jungle: A Story of Conservation and Coexistence

"Full of intrigue, deception, family loyalty and hardships, a glimpse into the daily lives of the people who are the guardians of India's remaining wildlife and gives a much needed dose of reality. It should be read by every well-meaning conservationist."

• Ruth DeFries, Recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant and Professor of Ecology and Sustainable Development, Columbia University

Netra Sharma, an Indian villager, lives an eventful but precarious life shaped by elephants, timber smugglers, and disaffected bureaucrats. When a young American scientist shows up to learn how to protect wildlife, Netra guides him through the vexing realities of modern conservation: political contests involving some of the world's most underserved people, and their escalating battle with wondrous creatures that have nowhere else to go.

A 2010 Indian government task force called the human-elephant conflict tragic for both sides: "Both are victims. Both are victims of victims." The Elephant Jungle is an in-depth exploration of what drives this struggle. It is a book about elephants: sacred, endangered, and sometimes deadly. But it is also a book about poverty, democracy, and the limits of good intentions in a crowded and complex world.

First published in India in 2022 as What's Left of the Jungle, the book was longlisted for the Tata Literature First Book Award and shortlisted for the Green Literature Festival's Honour Book Award.