(August 26, 2025) Wildlife photographer and environmentalist Uday Krishna Peddireddi has saved more than 50,000 trees and translocated 7,000 of them, as he continues his mission to protect India’s green corridors. His most soulful project is the Big Tree Quest, a 40,000-km journey dedicated to documenting India’s oldest and most majestic trees.
When Uday Krishna chose to return to India after a successful IT career in the US, few imagined the scale of change he would bring. From saving Hyderabad’s urban green cover to reviving tiger habitats in Maharashtra, his work has safeguarded thousands of trees, restored water sources, and created livelihoods through eco-tourism. Today, the wildlife photographer and conservationist’s work is setting new benchmarks for conservation in India.
Jungles across India are home to Uday Krishna. He is fiercely protective about trees and wildlife, often going out of his way to save them. Uday is the co-founder of the Vata Foundation, an environmental non-profit born out of Hyderabad’s urgent need to protect its shrinking green cover, and is known for its work in translocating trees to save green spaces in Hyderabad and other parts of India. At its core lies a simple belief: trees that have stood for decades should not be brought down in seconds.
Guided by this principle, the Foundation steps in wherever development threatens to uproot old trees and has translocated over 7,000 trees and saved over 50,000 from being felled across eight Indian states. Alongside tree translocation, it also focuses on adopting jungles and strengthening tiger corridors.
Breathing life into Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary
Vata Foundation has worked with the Maharashtra Forest Department in adopting Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, a tiger sanctuary on the Telangana–Maharashtra border. “By adopting the jungle, I ensured we compliment the works by the Forest department. I assured to help with whatever was required to make Tipeshwar a Tiger friendly forest. For that we had to ensure a steady supply of prey base and their safety,” Uday mentions in a chat with Global Indian.
The wildlife enthusiast took pains to help dig two lakes within the wildlife sanctuary to ensure that animals had a drinking water source 365 days a year. He even gave a massive boost to wildlife tourism, which generated employment opportunities for locals living around forests.
When he first started work there were no safari vehicles, no guides, and resorts, which meant no jobs. Uday and his team took the plunge, set up a small eco-retreat which provided employment to about 20 locals. “I had to use only locally available semi-skilled labour to set up the retreat consisting of five tents,” he mentions.
Today, Tipeshwar has over 30 resorts and home stays employing over 500 families, about 70 safari vehicles and visitors from across the globe.
The Vata team also planted 3500 saplings, and provided jackets and shoes to the forest department staff. Besides, they donated fire-fighting equipment, water tankers, solar based pump systems and even furnished the guard rooms. “I wanted to ensure that the forest department staff worked effectively,” says Uday, who used his wildlife photography network to attract photographers to the tiger reserve. The work inside the jungles started showing results and the tiger population began to grow.
Uday Krishna and his team at work
Moving focus on the next jungle
Now, Uday has moved on to another jungle in Maharashtra which is over 400 sq kms. “I hope to convert it into a Tiger Reserve in four to five years. We will be looking out for help from the corporate sector in achieving this,” says Uday, who has received various awards including one from the Earthday Network and the Green India awards.
Early struggles and uncompromising values
From its inception in 2015, Uday’s Vata Foundation faced roadblocks. During an effort to save 198 trees from being felled in a road-widening project near Kothaguda junction in Hyderabad, permissions were denied, and the team had to approach the High Court. “We won the case but, by that time only 45 trees remained as the rest were cut down while the courts were closed for summer holidays,” recalls the conservationist who has been invited to speak at forums including Tedx and by corporate houses like GMR and Novartis among others.
One of the highlights of his journey is a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) he filed in the Telangana High Court to protect 400 acres of Kanchi Gachibowli deemed forest land. His efforts secured a stay on development, and the matter is now before the Supreme Court.
No sooner had the Foundation started functioning, Uday put in place a few policies even though it meant that it would be tough on him. “We did not want to take any CSR Funds nor Government Grants, we wouldn’t apply for any award or reward if it involved any kind of fee. We would never sign up with any celebrity nor politician. This helped us keep our focus to our core objectives,” he remarks.
Initial years were tough and saw Uday finance many projects from his pocket. “It also forced me to rely on social media to shout out for help. This helped in many ways, especially in spreading awareness about translocation as an option to save trees instead of cutting them,” he mentions.
A tree translocation work in progress
Childhood roots on the edge of the jungle
Born in 1970 in Hyderabad, Uday studied at Kodai International School and Hyderabad Public School. A distinction holder till class 10, he excelled in academics, sports, and painting.
Summers at his maternal grandfather’s home in the Mallaram village exposed him to the wild, where treks into the jungle and encounters with medicinal plants laid the foundation of his lifelong love for nature.
His grandfather’s home stood on the edge of the jungle, a place where childhood adventures came alive. Along with his cousins, Uday would trek through the forest trails, gathering wild fruits and medicinal plants that his grandfather used for Ayurvedic remedies. Those forays into the wilderness also nurtured another passion—photography. Even as a boy, Uday loved capturing moments, whether in the jungle or at family gatherings and celebrations.
A tiger encounter that sparked a lifelong passion
A visit to the Kanha National Park in 1993, where he saw the very first tiger in the wild, sealed his passion for wildlife photography and conservation.“I spotted a tiger in the wild for the first time. It was love at first sight,” says Uday.
That moment marked the beginning of his wildlife photography journey. From experimenting with wide-angle frames to mastering a 400mm Canon prime telephoto lens, Uday immersed himself in the craft. Over the years, he captured thousands of images across India’s famed jungles—Tadoba, Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Tipeshwar, Kanha, Nagarhole, among others—each frame reflecting his deepening bond with the wild.
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From Silicon Valley dreams to India’s forests
Uday pursued his Bachelors in Commerce from Osmania University followed by an evening MBA from Vasavi School of Management in Hyderabad affiliated to Newport University California. His early career revolved around computers. After completing a diploma in Information Systems Management, he moved to the USA in 1996, and worked as a consultant programmer at MCI Worldcom in Colorado Springs and later as a Database Administrator at Ameren UE in St. Louis.
“My career in the USA was progressing and I was handling multiple projects spread across multiple databases,” he recalls. But somewhere deep inside, despite having comforts of life he was missing the life he dreamt of and wanted to be back in India. Eventually, he chose to forgo his Green Card (then at the EAD stage) and returned home in 2001, choosing jungles over corporate corridors.
Looking ahead
Today, in what he calls “semi-retirement,” Uday is dedicating his life to conservation. He is working on adopting larger jungles, scaling wildlife tourism, and even pioneering eco-friendly solid waste management technologies.
My mobile number has now become the unofficial ‘Tree Helpline of India,’” he says with a laugh. “I get calls from across the country, from individuals and corporates, asking for help with trees, especially relocation.”
When Uday is not rescuing trees, he’s chasing roads. An avid traveller, he loves long-distance drives and bike rides. In 2015, he even undertook an epic Hyderabad-to-Morocco road trip, which he remembers as ‘super awesome.’ A proud owner of two Triumph motorcycles, he has also completed adventurous rides like Hyderabad–Bhutan–Hyderabad and Hyderabad–Leh.
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Uday Sir’s work is beyond amazing. He and his team are real spiritualists as they look after the silent, the Godly and the kind creations called trees. The perseverance to stand against politics, bureaucracy while holding on to the will to safeguard nature has already ensured Uday and the entire Vata foundation a place in Heaven, if there is one. Perhaps, the trees that they save will give them goodwill for always! Great going! Thank you.