Anya Ratnayaka

– PhD Candidate, Founder & Primary Investigator of Urban Fishing Cat Conservation Project

Anya Ratnayaka, a PhD Candidate at The University of Queensland, is a passionate researcher focused on the ecology and conservation of urban mesocarnivores in Sri Lanka. Co-founder of Small Cat Advocacy & Research (2017) and founder of the Urban Fishing Cat Conservation Project (2013), she studies Colombo’s unique hyper-urban fishing cat population and its adaptation to urbanization and wetland changes. Collaborating with government agencies, her work aims to protect this endangered species and its habitat. Anya is also a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, WCN Scholar, Re:wild Associate Scientist, and part of the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance.