As part of State of Nature 2022, conservation biologist and author Neha Sinha discusses the agency of wild animals, arguing that understanding this agency can help us plan a finer and more sustainable world. Sinha’s talk begins by describing what is often concealed from us; Elephant herds moving through railway lines; Great Indian bustards facing their greatest threat not on the land, but in a sky that is cut through with wires; A leopard tiptoeing into the national capital. Sinha covers what is more easily seen: butterflies finding the most magical spots in cities, and migratory birds that conjoin continents. Sinha’s talk addresses animal sentience, the remarkable love some humans have for non-humans, and the biodiversity crisis, arguing that understanding the wilful animal is a means of understanding our own place in the world.