TIKA RAM GIRI

Tika Ram Giri was born at Sauraha on the edge of the Royal Chitwan National Park. Tika's knowledge of the birds and mammals of Nepal is vast and has been gathered over many years and by much hard work. In his ten years at the Royal Chitwan National Park he established his expertise, ultimately becoming the senior naturalist. He is a great companion and no ornithologist knows Chitwan better than Tika and no one else has seen as many species there.

He has travelled and trekked widely all over the Indian Subcontinent leading many groups. Tika is a founding member of Nature Safari Tours and works full time for the company. He leads most of Nature Safari Tours Himalayan treks. As one of the very best Nepalese naturalists the insight he is able to give into his country's culture and traditions is excellant and informative and makes any trip to the Himalayas a truly enlightening experience. Tika has conducted a number of birdwatching identification activities in Chitwan and at Koshi. He has recently found the Small Snowfinch in Ladakh as a new species for the Subcontinent and Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis as a new species for Nepal.

SUCHIT BASNET

Was born in the eastern Terai of Nepal and as a science student had a keen interest in all wildlife. After leaving college he worked in a high school in Kathmandu, however, he changed his plans and his wildlife career took off when he started working as a full time naturalist in the Royal Chitwan National Park. Suchit stayed at Chitwan for five years and during that time he accumulated an invaluable knowledge of its flora and fauna.
 
He started work as a full time leader in 1994. Since then his great enthusiasm, cheerful and friendly disposition, together with exceptional knowledge have contributed to many visitors having a successful stay in Nepal. Now ranked as one of the country's leading naturalists and ornithologists, Suchit leads many of our tours and treks in Nepal. He is a founding member of Nature Safari Tours and works for the company full time. Suchit has found a new species for Nepal; Jerdon's Baza Aviceda jerdoni.

HATHAN CHAUDHARY

Hathan Chaudhary comes from Chitwan and started work in the Royal Chitwan National Park in 1988. His interest in wildlife began in 1990 and from that time he quickly built up an outstanding amount of knowledge on the birds of Nepal. He began working at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve as the Senior Naturalist and in addition to his contribution to developments in ornithological investigation in eastern Nepal he was also largely responsible for the development of the camp itself.

His excellant knowledge of wildlife and conservation issues has enabled him to lead many successful tours. He has a quiet and thoughtful approach to his work and is keen to share what he knows. Expert on Himalayan fauna, he has also trekked in Langtang, round Annapurna, Barun valley, upper Mustang, Mai and the Kaligandaki Valley. He is the Big Day list holder for Nepal having seen 172 species in a day at Koshi Tappu Tappu Wildlife Reserve. Hathan has found the first known nest of the Nepal Wren Babbler Pnoepyga immaculata and has found a new species for Nepal; Black-tailed Crake Porzana bicolor. Hathan is a founding member of Nature Safari Tours and works for the company full time.

BADRI CHAUDHARY

Badri Chaudhary was born in Chitwan just a kilometer away from the Royal Chitwan National Park. He started his career with a variety of jobs at Chitwan, however, his keen interest in birds and substantial knowledge has quickly made him an expert birdwatcher. He has visited all the lowland areas for birdwatching on a number of occasions as part of the grassland bird research programme for mist-netting and data collection. He worked at Koshi for five years and with his extensive birding knowledge he was able to cover the whole of the eastern lowlands. He is now with Nature Safari Tours working as a co-leader and is also the manager of the new Koshi Camp. Badri has found Wedge-billed Wren Babbler Sphenocichla humei as a new species for Nepal.

HEM SAGAR BARAL

Hem Sagar Baral was born in the far lowlands of eastern Nepal and on the edge of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. Spending his childhood in the lowland jungles of the Terai, Hem developed an early interest in birds and wildlife. When he left school, his ornithological expertise and enthusiasm gained him a place as a full time naturalist at Royal Chitwan National Park. During his four years there, Hem impressed many groups with his knowledge and manner.
 
He left Chitwan to complete a diploma in geology at Tribhuvan University and continued to lead many groups whilst studying. He has trekked in several areas of Nepal and has served in important posts of Bird Conservation Nepal - most recently as its President. He has extensively studied birdlife in Nepal - especially the lowland grassland birds. He is awarded a PhD for his work on the lowland grassland birds in Nepal. He is the first and only Nepalese ornithologist with a PhD. He has been editing Nepal's first and only quarterly ornithological bulletin Danphe and also the journal Ibisbill since 1992. In the past he has worked as a volunteer warden for RSPB in Scotland, BirdLife International, IUCN-Nepal and on other conservation projects. Hem has found three new species of grassland birds for Nepal; Jerdon's Babbler, Finn's Weaver and Singing Lark. Hem is a founding member of Nature Safari Tours and in addition to his work with the company he works extensively as a conservation consultant and as a Director of Himalyan Nature.

BADRI PUDASAINI

Badri Pudasaini comes from Kathmandu. Badri gained most of his working experience when he was based at Chitwan and whilst there he did a number of jobs including managing wildlife camps. Although based permanently back in Kathmandu he retains his interest in Chitwan by continuing to manage a small lodge in the area. Badri works at Nature Safari Tours full time and his skills and support have been important to the development of the company. His role as office manager is key to the operation and his excellent organisational skills help to ensure that Nature Safari Tours service is always at its best.

BHESH RAJ GHIMIRE

Bhesh Raj Ghimire was born in Far East of Nepal, Jhapa District. He has completed Masters in Nepali Literature from Tribhuvan University (TU) in 1994. He has working experience including teaching in secondary level students for about six years. Because of this experience he has been conducting several conservation awareness programmes in different schools. He has been working for Nature Safari Tours Pvt. Ltd. and Koshi Camp Pvt. Ltd. since the establishment of these companies. He is currently working as Camp Manager at Koshi Camp. He has very good knowledge of tourism and camp management. His duty for Koshi Camp include handling all the rates, reservations, preparing annual camp budget, facilitation in day to day operations, staff recruitment, negotiation on rates with local suppliers and bearing other responsibility of the Camp. He also holds a Tourist Guide License from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of Nepal. He has served in important posts of Bird Conservation Nepal and currently he is the Vice President of this organization. During his time at BCN, he has ensured financial safety of the organization. He has been editing quarterly newsletter Munal since 2003 and organized many awareness programmes on Bird and Bio-diversity conservation. Bhesh Raj has edited and translated some books and articles in Nepali language, as well as appearing as a language editor of Birds of Nepal and Wild Mammals of Nepal, two famous Nepali language field guides. He is also associated with many other organizations in various capacities.