Howdy Y’all and welcome to the EEARSS by Alligator Robb Podcast, produced by Terrier TV at Titusville High School.
Season 5 Episode 16 features Akshit Suthar, a PhD candidate at Clemson University’s James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center and a wildlife biologist whose journey into conservation began in rural India.
Akshit holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Environmental Science, and his passion for wildlife ecology and understanding how animals shape and interact with their landscapes led him to pursue doctoral research in the United States. At Clemson University, he works alongside Dr. Jim Anderson studying how waterbirds use historic antebellum rice field wetland impoundments along the South Carolina coast. His work incorporates emerging technologies including drones and passive acoustic monitoring to better understand these complex wetland ecosystems.
Before coming to the United States, Akshit conducted extensive ecological research across India, working with a wide range of species including House Sparrows, Sloth Bears, Leopards, waterbirds, and Mugger Crocodiles, with a strong emphasis on human–wildlife interactions. After witnessing frequent snakebite incidents and the killing of snakes in his rural community, he co-founded a nonprofit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization with his classmates. The organization remains active today, providing free wildlife rescue services and education across multiple districts.
Akshit has also worked with conservation organizations throughout Gujarat, India, where he led environmental education initiatives, community-based conservation projects, coastal and marine environmental assessments, and human–wildlife conflict mitigation efforts. In 2019, he conducted the first systematic survey of Smooth-coated Otters in Gujarat after the species was believed to be locally extinct for nearly a decade. This work earned international recognition from the International Otter Survival Fund in the United Kingdom, which awarded him the “Otter Oscar” for research.
In addition to his research, Akshit has served as a visiting lecturer at universities in India and currently teaches undergraduate students at Clemson University, leading hands-on courses focused on wetlands, waterfowl ecology, and the use of emerging technologies in wildlife surveys. He has published in international scientific journals, serves as a peer reviewer, and remains actively engaged in professional conservation organizations.
This episode is a powerful conversation about global conservation, community-driven wildlife protection, technology in modern ecology, and the pathways that lead scientists from rural beginnings to international impact.