Education

BSc. Wildlife and Conservation Management, University of Queensland, Australia.

Anya Ratnayaka is a graduate in Wildlife and Conservation Management from the University of Queensland, Australia. A Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) Scholar for 2017, she has a strong interest in Sri Lankan wildlife and in particular small wild cat conservation. She is the co-founder of the NGO Small Cat Advocacy & Research, and is currently conducting research on Fishing Cats found in Colombo’s urban wetland habitats.

A chance encounter with an orphaned Fishing Cat in 2012 made Anya pivot from studying the Sri Lankan Leopard, and focus solely on this elusive, amphibious feline. She started the Urban Fishing Cat Project in 2013, and her research focuses on studying how the species is adapting to the the rapid clearing of their urban wetland habitat, while raising the species profile among stakeholders and the public. Her project was the first in the world to use GPS collars to track these animals.

A member of the Fishing Cat Working Group, Anya is currently working closely with the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation & Development Corporation and the Department of Wildlife Conservation to uncover the secret life of this endangered species, and understand how we can better protect it.