Our publishing standard is:

Accurate, Trusted & Frequently Updated.

Every contributor who joins Wildlife Navigator has the opportunity to grow from a new contributor into an established Wildlife Navigator Author.

The journey is not simply about how many articles you publish. It is about how well you build and maintain them.

Start as a Contributor

Everyone begins as a Contributor.

You do not need to arrive with 50 published articles or an established reputation.

You can start with zero published articles on Wildlife Navigator.

What matters is your ability to:

• Research carefully
• Write accurately
• Use reliable sources
• Cite information appropriately
• Follow editorial standards
• Respond to feedback
• Improve your work
• Maintain your published articles

Your first article is the beginning of your Wildlife Navigator publishing journey.

From 1 to 12 Articles: Build Your Experience

As you publish your first articles, your focus should be on building a strong record of work.

During this stage, you are developing:

• Writing ability
• Research skills
• Fact-checking habits
• Source evaluation
• Subject knowledge
• Editorial discipline
• Wildlife expertise
• Understanding of Wildlife Navigator standards

We encourage contributors to develop a specialist area rather than trying to write about everything.

For example:

• Indian wildlife
• Big cats
• Birds
• Marine wildlife
• National parks
• Protected areas
• Wildlife conservation
• Wildlife statistics
• Wildlife destinations

Over time, your published work should demonstrate what you know and what you are becoming an expert in.

Twelve Articles Is an Important Milestone

After publishing 12 or more articles, a Contributor may become eligible for Author status.

But article count alone is not enough.

Before becoming an Author, Wildlife Navigator will consider whether you have demonstrated:

• Consistent accuracy
• Reliable sourcing
• Good research
• Strong writing
• Subject knowledge
• Editorial responsibility
• Proper citation
• Responsiveness to corrections
• Commitment to maintaining your articles

The goal is not:

“Write 12 articles and automatically become an Author.”

The goal is:

“Use your first 12 articles to demonstrate that you can become a trusted Wildlife Navigator Author.”

Becoming a Wildlife Navigator Author

An Author is more than someone who has published many articles.

An Author is someone who has demonstrated that they can build and maintain reliable wildlife information.

After 12+ articles, an eligible Contributor may be promoted to Author following editorial review.

An Author may receive additional privileges and opportunities on Wildlife Navigator.

These may include:

• Greater publishing privileges
• A stronger author profile
• Recognition as an established Wildlife Navigator Author
• Opportunities to contribute to larger projects
• Opportunities to develop specialist content areas
• Greater involvement in maintaining existing content
• Potential editorial or specialist responsibilities as Wildlife Navigator grows

The exact privileges may evolve as the Wildlife Navigator editorial network develops.

Publication Is Not the End

This is one of the most important principles of Wildlife Navigator.

We do not publish and forget.

Wildlife information changes.

A population estimate published today may be replaced by a new survey next year.

A conservation status may change.

A protected area’s statistics may change.

A species may receive a new taxonomic classification.

A government authority may publish new information.

A news report may provide information that needs to be checked against the original source.

Therefore, a Wildlife Navigator article has an ongoing lifecycle:

Research → Write → Verify → Publish → Monitor → Update → Verify Again

Authors Are Responsible for Maintaining Their Articles

Authors are expected to take an active role in maintaining their published work.

Whenever relevant, authors should review their articles and determine whether important information has changed.

Target review frequency

Quarterly review is encouraged for important or frequently changing information.

At minimum, relevant articles should generally be reviewed within six months.

Not every sentence needs to be rewritten every three months.

The purpose of the review is to determine:

Is this information still accurate today?

What Should Be Checked During an Update?

When reviewing an existing article, check:

Statistics

• Population figures
• Species counts
• Park area
• Number of protected areas
• Census figures
• Other numerical information

Dates

• Census years
• Survey dates
• Establishment dates
• Recent developments

Conservation information

• IUCN status
• National conservation status
• Protection status
• Current threats

Taxonomy

• Scientific names
• Classification
• Subspecies information

Protected areas

• Official names
• Boundaries or area information
• Management information
• Government designations

Sources

• Are the sources still available?
• Is there newer information?
• Is an old secondary source now superseded?
• Can the original/official source be used instead?

Links

• Do internal links work?
• Do external sources still work?
• Has a source moved or been replaced?

Prefer New and Primary Sources

A major part of maintaining accuracy is recognizing when an old source is no longer sufficient.

For example, an article may have originally used a news report from 2023.

If an official organization publishes new data in 2026, the article should be reviewed and updated using the newer information.

Whenever possible:

Primary/official source → scientific source → reputable secondary source → news source

News articles can be useful for discovering developments, but important factual claims should, where possible, be traced back to the underlying official, scientific, or primary source.

Do Not Update Just to Change the Date

An article should never be updated simply to make it appear fresh.

An update should represent a genuine editorial review.

If the information is still accurate, the contributor does not need to rewrite the article unnecessarily.

If important information has changed, the article should be properly updated.

The principle is:

Update because the information needs updating—not because the date needs changing.

Build Your Expertise Through Your Articles

Your first article may be good.

Your fifth may be better.

Your tenth may demonstrate a much deeper understanding.

By the time you reach 12 or more articles, we want to see a contributor who has developed:

• Better research habits
• Better source selection
• Better understanding of the subject
• Better writing
• Better fact-checking
• Better ability to identify outdated information

This is how a contributor can gradually develop into a Wildlife Navigator Author.

Become Known for Your Subject

We encourage Authors to develop a recognizable area of expertise.

For example, an Author may gradually become known on Wildlife Navigator for:

African wildlife

or

Indian protected areas

or

Bird species

or

North American national parks

or

Wildlife conservation

This creates something more valuable than a collection of unrelated articles.

It creates demonstrated expertise.

Your Articles Are Your Professional Record

Your Wildlife Navigator profile should reflect the quality of your work.

As you contribute more, your articles can demonstrate:

• What you know
• What you research
• What you have experience with
• What subjects you specialize in
• How carefully you maintain information

We want contributors to be able to look back at their work and say:

“I built this body of knowledge, and I continue to keep it accurate.”

Accuracy Comes Before Speed

Wildlife Navigator does not want contributors to publish quickly at the expense of accuracy.

Before publishing an important figure, ask:

Where did this number come from?

Before publishing a conservation claim, ask:

What is the current authoritative source?

Before publishing a species classification, ask:

Has the taxonomy changed?

Before repeating a statement from a news article, ask:

What is the original source?

These habits are what turn an ordinary contributor into a trusted Author.

Trust Is Built Over Time

Trust is not created by an author badge.

It is created by a pattern of behavior.

A contributor builds trust by repeatedly:

Researching → Verifying → Citing → Publishing → Updating → Correcting

That is why Wildlife Navigator’s Author status should represent experience and responsibility, not simply article volume.

Our Long-Term Goal for Every Contributor

We want every contributor to have the opportunity to grow.

The path is:

Start

0 articles

↓

Contributor

1–12 articles

Learn the Wildlife Navigator standard and build your publishing experience.

↓

Experience & Demonstrated Quality

Build your record through your first 12+ articles

↓

Author

12+ articles + editorial review + demonstrated quality and maintenance

Take greater responsibility for your work and develop your specialist expertise.

↓

Future Opportunities

As Wildlife Navigator grows, experienced Authors may have opportunities to take on additional specialist or editorial responsibilities.

What Makes a Wildlife Navigator Author?

An Author should be someone who can say:

I don’t just write wildlife articles. I maintain wildlife information.

That means:

• I check my facts.
• I use reliable sources.
• I cite important information.
• I look for newer data.
• I correct outdated information.
• I maintain my published articles.
• I take responsibility for my work.
• I continue learning about my subject.

That is the standard Wildlife Navigator wants to build.

The Wildlife Navigator Promise

Our objective is not to become a website with the largest number of articles.

Our objective is to build a trusted and continuously maintained body of wildlife information.

Every contributor has a role in achieving that.

• Accurate: Information should be carefully researched and verified.
• Trusted: Important claims should be supported by appropriate and reliable sources.
• Frequently Updated: Information should be reviewed and updated as knowledge changes.
• Relevant: Articles should remain useful to readers over time.

The Wildlife Navigator Contributor Principle

Start with one article.
Build your knowledge.
Publish consistently.
Verify everything.
Maintain what you publish.

We don’t publish and forget. We publish, maintain, verify, and improve.

These habits help a contributor develop into a trusted Wildlife Navigator Author.