[1] Her research in the dense tropical forests of Arunachal Pradesh has successfully focused on hornbills, saving them from poachers.

After five years in Africa, the family returned to India where, after completing high school, she studied botany at Presidency University, Kolkata.

[3] She then embarked on a doctorate at Saurashtra University in Rajkot, Gujarat, on India's west coast, but work on her thesis took her back to Arunachal Pradesh where she investigated the ecology of hornbills in Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary, successfully completing her PhD.

[3] Datta then embarked on the pioneering task of taking a census of wildlife in Arunachal including bears, tigers, clouded leopards and musk deer in Namdapha National Park.

"[4] Datta and her team of biologists have also helped the Lisu people find alternative sources of income by developing the marketing of their handicrafts and the attractions of nature tourism in the area.