Thinley Wangden ’23 uses NASA data to map safe corridors for Bhutan’s elephants By Linzy Rosen ’22 | Photography by Gabe Souza
Dense forests bulldozed. Homes, roads, and buildings developed. Habitats lost. Add elephant attacks and poaching to the mix, and the survival of the remaining 678 Asian elephants in southern Bhutan hangs in the balance. Spurred to action, Thinley Wangden ’23 joined a team at NASA and helped map a path forward by identifying better biological corridors, or natural passages, to protect Bhutan’s residents and its elephants, ecologically, culturally, and religiously important to the small country. As a NASA intern, the Bhutanese native gathered and interpreted NASA Earth observations data to advise premier conservation organizations, including the Bhutan Tiger Center, Bhutan Foundation, and the Bhutan Ecological Society. Her results will contribute to the development of new strategic corridors for the elephants and inform future land policies.