Asir Jawahar Thomas Johnsingh, one of the eminent wildlife field biologists and pioneers of wildlife conservation in the country, died in Bengaluru in the early hours of Friday( 7 June 2024) after a brief illness.

• He was 78 and is survived by his sons Mike and Mervin.
• The family will lay his remains next to his wife Kousalya at Dohnavur near Kalakkadu, at the foothills of the Western Ghats, in Tamil Nadu. 
• Johnsingh started his career as a Zoology lecturer at Sivakasi in the early 1970s. His frequent field trips to the forests made him pursue Ph.D in wildlife studies.
• His pioneering work in elephants in the early 1980s was instrumental for the Government of India to formulate Project Elephant.