Sri Lanka’s small cats in big trouble!

Thursday, 13 October 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Big cats: beautiful, majestic, powerful. The seven species whose photographs have adorned most of our walls growing up. One of them is endemic to Sri Lanka, and even now, drives hordes of people to Yala or Wilpattu every weekend. They are a species that is as much a part of cultural imagination as our ancient civilisations.

But the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society’s Monthly Lecture for October is not about the Sri Lankan leopard. It’s about their smaller, but no less important cousins. Lurking in the shadow of big cats like the leopard, are the 34 species of small cats. These animals get little to no media attention, and are some of the most under-researched and under-funded species worldwide. Despite being apex predators and umbrella species in their respective habitats and niches, these small cats are some of the least studied animals in the world, and are currently facing many threats, mostly due to habitat loss. If we do not understand, value and protect these species, they may not be around for future generations to enjoy.

Delivered by Anya Ratnayaka, the lecture will touch upon the three small cat species we have in Sri Lanka, focusing on the fishing cat, which she has conducted research on. Each of these three small cats is unique, with a personality of its own, and it’s definitely worth getting to know them on an individual level! The lecture will be on 20 October at 6 p.m. at the Cinema Lounge, BMICH, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. The public lecture is open to all members and non-members, admission free.

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 Conservation Project in 2013. Though the fishing cat presence in Colombo was confirmed in a study done in 2006, Anya’s project focuses on studying on how the species is adapting to the rapid clearing of their urban wetland habitat.

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