Senthil Kumaran is a documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer from Madurai, South India.
For over a decade, Kumaran has been working on various wildlife and conservation projects, highlighting in particular the issues surrounding the human-animal conflict. He documented the human-tiger conflict, emphasizing tiger conservation and the livelihood issues of the people who live around the tiger reserves. Currently, he is working on human-elephant coexistence issues and their mitigation measures in South India, particularly crop-raiding elephants' behavioral changes and survival challenges in human-dominated landscapes. Recently, he has documented the tribes who tame wild elephants in the Western Ghats, India.
Kumaran is also working on a research project that covers the extinction of the coral reefs and erosion of the small islands surrounding the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere.
In 2014, Kumaran received a Hope Françoise Demulder Grant for his documentary on the illegal animal trade in Cambodia’s grey market. In addition, he has won more than 15 international awards including Pictures of the Year International, Geographical Photographer of the Year, Istanbul Photo Awards and Emerging Explorer Award from the National Geographic Society.
Kumaran’s photographs have been published in National Geographic, News Week and BBC.
World Press Photo Involvement:
2022 World Press Photo Contest winner
2020 6x6 Global Talent Program nominator
2019 6x6 Asia Talent
Senthil Kumaran on Social Media:
Instagram: @senthilphotography
Twitter: @artsenthil
