(Jun 13, 2025) Long before the tiger became a symbol of global conservation battles and environmental urgency, a young girl of British descent, growing up in the jungles of Bihar, was being rocked to sleep by the roars of the very creature she would one day devote her life to saving. Born in Kolkata in 1953, and raised entirely in India, Belinda Wright’s life has always been intertwined with the country’s wildlife. From cradling orphaned cubs in her childhood home to hunting down tiger poachers across the subcontinent, Wright’s journey is a rare tale of courage, commitment, and deep connection to the natural world.
The conservationist is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). An Emmy Award-winning wildlife filmmaker and accomplished photographer, she transitioned into full-time conservation work in 1994. Since then, she has emerged as one of India’s most formidable voices for wildlife protection, known for her groundbreaking investigations into the illegal tiger trade and her tireless efforts to combat poaching and habitat loss across the country.
Belinda Wright
A jungle childhood
Belinda was raised in the dense forests of Bihar, particularly around what is now the Palamu Tiger Reserve. Her childhood was anything but ordinary. “We always had a house full of animals, mostly orphans,” she said in an interview. Cubs of all three big cats, tigers, lions, leopards found refuge under the Wright family’s roof.
With parents deeply involved in wildlife, conservation was embedded in Belinda’s DNA. Her mother, Anne Wright was one of the founders of the World Wide Fund for Nature-India. In 1973, she was commissioned by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, whom she worked closely with as part of the Tiger Task Force to identify nine key tiger habitats, or reserves, for the launch of Project Tiger. It was India’s first foray into tiger protection. Belinda’s father, Dr Robert Wright spent decades working for the East India Charitable Trust and managed the Kipling Camp. Both her parents were separately conferred with the prestigious Order of the British Empire (OBE) for their conservation services in India. Belinda, too, would one day receive the same honour.
The Wright family also owned an ecotourism lodge on the outskirts of Kanha National Park, the country’s premier tiger sanctuaries located in central India. “My mother has always been a great inspiration for me and encouraged me at many instances,” Wright recalled. “She worked very closely with Indira Gandhi. Their legacy continues till day because the major legislative and conservation initiatives like the Wildlife Protection Act,and Project Tiger were taken then,” mentioned the conservationist.
A young Belinda Wright in the early days of her wildlife journey | Photo Credit: Outlook Traveller
A personal loss, a fierce resolve
The pivot from filming tigers to fighting for their survival came with a heartbreak. In the summer of 1994, a tiger she had grown attached to disappeared. It was likely hunted by poachers. “It was when one of my favourite tigers went missing… I couldn’t believe that someone could do that to an animal,” Wright told in an interview with Outlook. That devastating loss catalyzed her transformation into a full-time conservationist. “I ended up living in a city (Delhi), which would never have been my first choice. I’m much more stressed here.” Yet, the concrete jungle would become her base for some of the most critical anti-poaching work in the country.
The birth of Wildlife Protection Society of India
In 1994, Wright founded the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), with a mission to combat wildlife crime. With a robust informer network, WPSI offers intelligence, legal support, and field assistance to enforcement agencies across India. The organization is known for its effectiveness and grit. “From its inception, WPSI’s main aim has been to bring a new focus to the daunting task of tackling India’s growing wildlife crisis,” she said.
Wright led pioneering investigations into the illegal trade in tiger parts, often putting herself in dangerous situations. In 2005, she played a crucial role in exposing the big cat skin trade in Tibet. “Every part of the tiger is valued,” she explained, “from claws used for charms to bones used in traditional medicine.” She also uncovered a sinister barter system, where tiger parts were exchanged for the luxurious Shahtoosh wool, derived from the endangered Tibetan Antelope, or Chiru.
Belinda Wright | Photo Credit: Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI)
Shahtoosh-tiger nexus
Few in India knew about Shahtoosh in the early ’90s. But Wright, with parallel findings from prominent field biologist Dr. George Schaller on the Tibetan plateau, uncovered how thousands of Chiru were killed for the prized wool. “In August 1993, over 400 kg of raw Shahtoosh wool was seized in Delhi. That was the tipping point.” Her two-and-a-half-year investigation revealed that Shahtoosh was often bartered for tiger bones, a devastating trade that linked Indian forests to Tibetan markets.
Curiously, while Shahtoosh was being sourced from Tibet, its demand was largely in India, and vice versa for tiger parts. “There is nobody in China who can make a Shahtoosh shawl. The wool has no demand there.” But the demand for tiger parts in China is huge. Skins are worn during festivals, bones used in medicine, penises in potions.”
Recognition, reflection, and resolve
Belinda Wright’s relentless efforts earned her the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2003. She was also awarded the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award in 2005 and became an Ashoka Senior Fellow in 2009. She has served on numerous wildlife advisory boards in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, and was a member of the National Board for Wildlife until 2010.
But her approach has always remained rooted in empathy for both animals and people. “I am not one of those conservationists who hate people,” she remarked. “I don’t think it’s possible to solve wildlife conservation problems if we don’t listen to the problems of the local people.”
That perspective extends to policy criticism as well. “Legally, India’s wildlife laws are very good but the implementation is weak. Lack of political will makes a huge amount of difference,” she told in an interview. Comparing eras, she added, “Mrs. Gandhi could make an incredibly courageous decision because she truly believed wildlife was a vital part of India’s make-up.”
The power of partnership
Wright believes strongly in collaboration. WPSI works closely with both local and national NGOs. “I am a great believer in dialogue and collaboration,” she noted. “There are many things other organizations know better than us.” This inclusive approach has helped WPSI broaden its impact, extending beyond poaching to address human-animal conflict and support research.
A legacy in the making
A few years back during one interview, Belinda Wright reflected, “I have never done anything else except working on wildlife issues.” Today, her legacy is not just in laws or arrests, but in a generation of conservationists who follow in her footsteps. She reminds us that passion alone is not enough. Dedication, danger, and sometimes, deep personal loss are the cost of true advocacy.
Belinda Wright | Photo Credit: Outlook
In a world increasingly fractured between concrete ambition and ecological reality, Belinda Wright stands as a bridge. She is the voice the tiger never had, the force that walked away from the camera to take up the cause.
And as long as the forests echo with roars, Belinda Wright’s journey continues with part memory, part mission, ands all heart.
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