Rajendra Singh Koranga: A Citizen Scientist Making a Difference
An India's Nature Profile : Citizen Scientists - Making a Difference
Rajendra (Raju) Singh Koranga, Uttarakhand, India
Rajendra (Raju) was recently interviewed by Ashish Kothari and Shristee Bajpai of Kalpavrish. Many thanks to Sumit Mahar who shared the video interview which is linked here
The interview & accompanying profile is the perfect opportunity to introduce Raju, a dedicated and passionate Citizen Scientist, and kickstart India's Nature profile series on Citizen Scientists. This profile is available as a pdf here
Raju Koranga is a remarkable individual with an unyielding passion for natural history and the outdoors. He has boundless energy and is always physically fit and actively engaged in various outdoor endeavours. Raju is an observant and eager learner, and he seamlessly translates his knowledge into practical field skills.
Raju's journey in natural history began at the young age of 16. He ventured into the realm of forest protection activities, as a Chowkidar (forest guard) for his village forest (Van Panchayat) and has, since, never stopped learning . Since 2013, Raju has been honing his skills as a natural history guide, delving into the study and documentation of diverse flora and faunal groups, including birds, butterflies, moths, beetles, Himalayan mammals, and alpine plants, and whatever else he happens to observe.
Raju's passion for biodiversity has led him to become an active contributor to various citizen science platforms, ebird India and inaturalist (and more recently I found butterflies India, and Moths of India). He has contributed an impressive 12,000+ observations, to iNaturalist, using a simple android phone. His remarkable contributions have earned him the 13th rank among all India contributors on Inaturalist India.
Opportunity permitting Raju contributes significantly to CitSci events. He holds the record for the most observations in the Monsoon Beauty 2022 and Beetle Mania 2022 projects, and the third most observations in both the Monsoon Beauty 2021 and India's Big Butterfly Month 2021) projects.
Raju's inquisitive nature has led him to observe and document several intriguing species in the Uttarakhand Himalayas, some of those that had not been seen for over half a century or more or have little Citizen Science documentation. In the world of public documentation (on inaturalist), Raju has the only known observations for some of the following:
- The Pointed Silverspot (Issoria mackinnonii) butterfly, which had not been sighted since 1963.
- The Silverstreak (Argynnis clara), observed after a 112-year gap since 1910.
- A record of the rare Neodrymonia canifusa moth, which remains the sole observation on Inaturalist globally.
He has also begun contributing to I found butterflies India and Moths of India, where he has, so far, the only known contributions for the Yellow-spotted (Garhwal) Ace *(Thoressa aina)*.
Yellow-spotted (Garhwal) Ace *(Thoressa aina)
Raju's journey has been nurtured by several people and organizations in the field of outdoor & nature education, and wildlife conservation. He received training in Trek Leadership from the Hanifl Centre, Mussoorie, and actively participated in various wildlife and nature-oriented events in Uttarakhand. Individuals and entities like Dr. Gopal Rawat (Former Dean & Director WII), Malika Virdi & E Theophilus of Himal Prakriti, Dr. Paul Elsen, Sanjay Sondhi (Titli Trust), Ashish Kothari (Kalpavriksh), Anchal Sondhi (Titli Trust) and many others have played pivotal roles in shaping Raju as a naturalist and nature educator. He continues to receive invaluable support and guidance from Ramnarayan of India's Nature while Uma & S Kalyanaraman help with a fellowship through India's Nature.
Within his community and among those who have had the opportunity of working with him, Raju's outdoor skills and proficiency as a natural historian are highly respected and admired. Raju is also a signatory and practitioner of an Uttarakhand Nature Guide Ethical Guidelines
India's Nature takes immense pride supporting Raju's journey as a naturalist. We hope to continue supporting his efforts and work in the future.
Meanwhile India's Nature (and Monsoon Beauty) is committed to supporting people in rural areas because we believe that there are many more like Raju who deserve similar opportunities and support.
You can explore Raju Koranga's contributions and observations on various Citsci and (or) follow him on social media :
Citizen Science Platforms
- iNaturalist profile : @rajkoranga
- Ebird rajukoranga (unfortunately ebird profiles are only accessible to logged in ebird users)
On Social Media
Latest highlights from the India's Nature , and the Monsoon Beauty - 23 event are documented on Instagram and on Inaturalist Journals
India's Nature is also on Telegram
Ram
Comments
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Keep up the good work, Mr. Koranga. I hope you'll be responsible for discovering a new species some day.
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