R J Ranjit Daniels is simultaneously an outstanding naturalist, a gifted artist, an accomplished popular writer and a scientifically trained conservation biologist. He has a Masters degree in Agricultural Entomology from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and a Doctorate from the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Dr. Ranjit Daniels has published extensively in national and international journals on diverse topics such as ecology, conservation and taxonomy, and on various groups like birds, frogs, ants and plants. He is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Task Force on the conservation of amphibians. Dr. Daniels is presently with the Madras Crocodile Bank, Mamallapuram, working on the herpetological fauna of Southern India.