Meet Some Of Our Tour Leaders
Ariel Aguirre
Versatility is the word that comes to mind when you meet this young Panamanian guide. Born and raised in a teachers’ family in Panama City, during many years Ariel has been leading tours in English, French, Italian and Spanish. He specializes in Birding and Natural History and has a vast knowledge of his nation’s indigenous nature and ethnic culture.
A graduate from the University of Panama, Ariel had a two-year stay in Europe where he did an internship at the University of Valladolid in Spain and spent a year in several educational centers in France. His love of nature made him become a Panama Audubon Society member in 2001. Since then Ariel has been actively participating in its bird counts, fieldtrips and monthly meetings. His collaboration allowed him to be elected as a Board of Directors' member in 2006. He is also member of APTSO the Panamanian Association for Sustainable Tourism. He’s locally known as an avid birder with a fearless attitude and an impressive sense of humor, who has the ability to turn a single day on the tour into an outstanding learning experience!
Philane
Philane, nicknamed ‘Pisio’, has traveled across South Africa, Southern Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho. He loves the Swazi culture and is deeply attached to Africa. He is extremely passionate about his job and believes that a tour leader is the backbone of a good tour. Several travellers on Philane's tours have raved about his enthusiasm, knowledge and dedication. This, coupled with his love for adventure will ensure that your African experience will be nothing less than fantastic!
Manisha Rajput
Manisha Rajput had an inclination for Nature & Environment from a young age. It turned into her profession when she worked with the Gir forest department as a Research Fellow. She worked on an Eco Development project in the year 1997. After finishing the project Manisha continued to work as a consultant in environment education for the same organization. Manisha’s extreme interest in wildlife and the environment spurred her to start working independently in the field of Environment Education & Conservation. Since 1997, she has organized nature camps and Eco Tours in Gir, The Dangs, Polo, Jambughoda, Hindolgadh, Manali, Seoganj, Jim Corbett National Park and other parts of India like Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Till date she has organized over 200 camps, assisted around 12,000 students and and handled more than 500 overseas clients as a Naturalist and as Culture tour guide. Apart from Nature Camps, she has planned and executed tours for international tourists fas well. Manisha is passionate about wildlife conservation and actively supports the conservation of Lions, Whale Sharks, Vultures and Reptiles. She has developed material related to nature education for organizations like Nature Club Surat, WWF Valsad and WWF Rajkot. She is a consultant for the Gujarat Forest Department, as well as the GEER Foundation. She is also a member of the Birds Conservation Society of Gujarat.
Jeff The Chef
Jeffrey van Kraayenburg, nicknamed Jeffers or Jeff the Chef, has toured South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Jeffery started out as a 'trainee courier' or camp assistant in 2007. He moved on to become a Courier Tour Leader and is now one of the best in the business! Jeff the Chef's mantra for tourists is to always carry a raincoat and a good pair of shoes, because even he can't tell when the weather might change!
T. Sangay Wangchuk
T. Sangay Wangchuk is a pioneer in wildlife tourism in Bhutan with almost two decades ofexperience. His passion for Bhutan’s culture and ecology is his pride. His interest in local beliefsis depicted in his book “Seeing with the Third Eye, Growing up with Grandma in Rural Bhutan.”Sangay has done his practical mountain management course in Chamonix, France. Over the years he has extensively lead treks to most corners of Bhutan and has scaled several trekking peaks. His knowledge of Bhutan’s flora and fauna is unmatched. He is a passionate animist (nature worshiper) and wild life is very much a part of his life.
Wicky
Wicky, grew up in Mahawewa in the North-West Province of Sri Lanka. Having developed a love for wildlife from childhood, he has been working as a naturalist guide since 1992. Clients commend Wicky for being reliable, good fun, patient and for being knowledgeable about Sri Lankan cultural sites as well as nature. Wicky, is also one of the few naturalists in Sri Lanka who has led butterfly and dragonfly watching tours.
Anil Kumar Gurung
Born in a village within the Chitwan National Park, Anil grew up with a passion for wildlife. At 41, he has 17 years of experience as a naturalist and jungle guide. He is well-versed with almost all of the major wildlife havens of Nepal, as well as the Corbett National Park and the birding regions in and around the Nainital region of India. A Government certified Nature Guide and a trained ornithologist, his uncanny penchant for wildlife spotting and his know-how of flora and fauna of Nepal is truly commendable. He certainly is the man to be with when you’re on a wildlife adventure in Nepal.
Justo Camargo
Justo Camargo is a Panamanian who promotes the conservation of the environment through his work. Currently he studies Biology at the University of Panama (Universidad de Panamá). He has worked on field studies ranging from the structuring and functioning of tropical forests to Migratory Bird Census. In 2005 he launched his first publication on tropical birds: ‘Common Bird Sounds from the Metropolitan Natural Park’, which was supported by USAID, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation as well as the Cleveland Metroparks.
He had studied mammals and participated as a field technician in the ecological assessment of Escudo de Veraguas Island. He has also participated since 2005 in ‘The Christmas Bird Count of the Panama Audubon Society’ and has also worked as an environmental educator for the same organization. He worked as a guide-instructor in birding activities and environmental education for the Smithsonian Institution. His passion for nature began at a very young age and he was a T.V. host for government public television in a program entitled Ecoaventuras running from 2006 till 2009. This was a programme that promoted the conservation and dissemination of protected areas of the country and other places of tourist interest. He has also participated in international seminars for bird conservation in Colombia and Costa Rica.
Bishnu Thapa
Bishnu Thaps’s love of nature and curiosity about wildlife ultimately led him towards his current vocation, that of a Jungle Guide. He started out guiding independent travelers on jungle safaris in the Chitwan National Park at the young age of 20 years. Nine years down the line, he is now a well trained, certified and full-fledged Jungle Guide. His knowledge of the wildlife in Nepal is unparalleled. His expertise of the Nepalese habitats will hold you in good stead on your pursuit of wildlife in Nepal.
Chander Kant
Chander Kant, based in Ranthambore (Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan), has a deep commitment towards nature, wildlife and eco tourism. A passionate naturalist, he is highly knowledgeable about the wildlife in Northern and Central India. Over the past few years, Chander Kant has captured beautiful, mesmerizing and rare pictures of wildlife, flora and flora and has a proud collection to share! Most of the pictures of tigers and Rathambore on the website have been contributed by him. Chander Kant is a responsible person with a large amount of knowledge clubbed with enthusiastic initiative. This winning combination that helps him interact with guests on common subjects of interest, like nature, wildlife, and culture. After completing his Bachelors Degree Chander Kant completed his Mewat Region Guide Course from Bharatpur in the year 1992. After this, he completed the Ranthambore Nature Guide Course in the year 1993, following it up with the Rajasthan Sate Monument Guide Course from Jaipur in the year 1996. He has accompanied many tourists from all over the world to Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Corbett, Ranthambore, Sariska, Bharatpur, Pench and Panna.
Satya Narayan Kumal
A prodigy of the jungle environment of Chitwan National Park , Satya Narayan’s caliber as a seasoned jungle guide has its roots from the inspiration he derived from his elder brother, who was, at one time, a much sought after wildlife expert in the illustrious ranks of Tiger Tops’ pool of guides. Following the footsteps of his brother, Satya Narayan started out as a jungle guide/naturalist at Machan Wildlife Resort. Here he proved his mettle for 2 years and in the process gained invaluable experience which he later honed further at Tiger Tops – the premier chain of jungle resorts in Asia – for 3 years. In addition, he expanded his expertise to the field of leading treks and tours in Nepal. A complete professional, Satya Narayan has exceptional tour leading abilities, a keen eye for wildlife spotting and in depth knowledge of all the major wildlife sanctuaries, prominent trekking destinations of Nepal which is further enhanced by his know-how of Bandhavgarh National Park in India, where he served as a trainee for a month.
Rinie van Meurs
Rinie has been an expedition leader since 1989. He has lead almost 200 expeditions in Franz Joseph Land, Greenland, Canadian Arctic, Scottish Islands, Antarctica and the Sub Antarctic. No other person has done so many expedition cruises in this archipelago (over a 100 expeditions) of Spitsbergen (Svalbard). After he finished his formal education in Forestry Management and Nature Conservation in 1981 from Netherlands, he travelled around the world to photograph and study wildlife. He stayed for almost a year in the Falkland Islands. He is an excellent wildlife photographer and many of his photographs have been published in magazines and photo books. He has written several books about the Polar Regions including a coffee table style book about areas "off the beaten track". During the season 1994-95 he was rated by the Argentinean Antarctic Institute as Leader of Safest Zodiac Operations aboard Tourist Ships.
Subhash Gautam
Subhash Gautam is a naturalist by profession. Gautam, based in Ranthambore (Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan) is also a passionate wildlife photographer. He captures the rare wilderness of India in his lenses and has an unrivaled collection to share. Many of the images of the tiger on the website have been clicked by him. Owing to the time he has spent in the wild of the northern part of India, he now specializes in Northern Indian wildlife. He makes it a point to share his knowledge and passion for the wild with the tourists. Guided by his passion for photography and love for the wildlife, he has exhibited a deep commitment to eco tourism in India. After completing his Masters Degree, he went on to do the Ranthambore Nature Guide Course and the Monument Guide Course. He has accompanied wildlife enthusiasts as a tour escort to Corbett, Ranthambore, Sariska, Bharatpur, Pench and Panna.
Jan Belgers
Jan Belgers was born in 1965 in the Netherlands and presently lives in Rotterdam. He has been working as a professional outdoor guide and expedition leader for many years now. His passion is travelling and guiding in wildernesses all over the world. His work as a guide has brought him from the high mountain ranges of the Himalayas and Andes to the extreme latitudes of Spitsbergen and Antarctica. His first stepped into the Polar Regions in 1992 as a student, when he participated in an international winter expedition to the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Since then he has joined several research expeditions to remote places in the northern and southern oceans. Jan feels at home on the sea, due to his background in marine biology, and is one of the expedition leaders on the sailing ship, the Noorderlicht. He is famous for his lectures on natural history, biology and polar history and is a polar literature fanatic.
Talat Khalid
A Wildlife Photographer based in Mumbai with a passion for mammals and big game, Talat Khalid has photographed all kinds of flora and fauna extensively. He describes himself as a nature lover first, then a wildlife photographer. Being close to wildlife in its natural environment is what he loves most. After a successful career in the Software Industry for about 15 years, he quit in order to pursue his passion for wildlife photography. He is well known in the Indian Wildlife Photography Community. A decade of experience in the Indian wilderness has given him extensive knowledge of local wildlife, national parks and its people. Talat Khalid has taken some beautiful and breathtaking photographs of the Indian subcontinent.
Jayaweera
Jayaweera or ‘Jaya’ as he is affectionately known by his colleagues has been leading birding and wildlife tours for almost twenty years. In addition to birds, he is extremely knowledgeable about wildlife which makes him a perfect addition to our expedition. He consistently receives excellent reviews from clients he has taken into the field. Jayaweera has lately taken an interest in primates, when he handled a tour on primates that focused on the Loris in Sri Lanka with two British primatologists in the year 2007.
Troels Jacobsen
Troels Jacobsen was born in 1971 in Denmark where he studied biology at the University of Southern Denmark, Odense. The studies emphasized on animal behavior and marine mammals and he ended up with a Masters degree in 2001 on neonate Bottlenose dolphin behavior. Throughout his life he has had a sincere and keen interest in Nature, particularly in the field of marine mammals. The day after he acquired his Masters, he left for Iceland and worked as a whale watch guide leading more than 500 whale watch trips from Keflavik on the South West coast. Based in Odense, Denmark, Troels has since 2003 worked as a freelance expedition leader and guide for trips to Iceland, Svalbard, Greenland, and Antarctica as well as the Atlantic region. Between seasons he has occupied himself with various freelance scientific challenges in the field of marine mammals covering a multitude of aspects from photo identification of dolphins and large whales, marine mammal survey work as well as participating in research on the accidental bi-catch of Harbour porpoises in commercial fishing gear.
Praveen Singh
Since completing a Masters in Mass Communication from New Delhi in 1998, Praveen Singh has been working in television programming, related to wildlife and environment conservation. He started his career as a reporter, went onto shoot a couple of documentaries and then did extensive production co-ordination for the Paramount Television distributed reality wildlife series called, ‘Wild Things.’ He made the panda winning series, ‘Living on The Edge.’ Praveen Singh was a faculty member at the Wildlife Institute of India, the country’s premier wildlife research and training center when in 2001 he left to pursue an MFA course in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University. He has made several award winning films like ‘Indian Leopards – The Killing Fields’, ‘The Asiatic Lion – On a Roll Call’, ‘The Future Beneath Our Feet’ (on Geothermal Energy), and ‘The Final Tide’ (on the climate change).
Octavio Rios
Growing up in the highlands of Chiriquí in Panama, an area surrounded by wildlife and national parks, must have influenced Octavio’s fascination for ecology and bird watching. He spent his elementary school in Panama, and during high school he divided his time between California and Panama. While studying tourism in college, Octavio worked for Scuba Panama and earned his first job at the Panama Canal Museum in 1999. He has worked as a history and ecology tour guide for different tour operators, hotels, and cruise liners ever since. He is also a member of the Panama Audubon Society and the founder of the Tourism Guide Association of Panama. After 10 years of experience, he is now a Cruise Director for the Discovery.
Siddharth Sirohi
Siddharth is a commercial photographer who heads for the Himalayas at every opportunity in search of solitude, inspiration and breathtaking landscapes. His biking trips to the mountains have yielded several amazing photographs, and he enjoys sharing his knowledge of wildlife and photgraphy. Before he answered the call of the wild, Siddharth was a video journalist with CNN for 4 years.
