I am a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, Australia, where I study the ecology and conservation of fishing cats in urban landscapes. As founder and Principal Investigator of the Urban Fishing Cat Conservation Project and co-founder of the Sri Lankan non-profit Small Cat Advocacy & Research, I lead research and applied conservation programmes focused on fishing cats, urban wildlife, and other small wild cats in Sri Lanka.

Since 2013, my research has examined how fishing cats persist in highly urbanised and fragmented landscapes, with particular emphasis on movement ecology, habitat use, diet, activity patterns, and responses to human pressures. This work integrates GPS telemetry, camera trapping, dietary analysis, public reporting, and field-based conservation. The programme conducted Sri Lanka’s first GPS-collar study of fishing cats and the country’s first tracking of female fishing cats.

A substantial part of my work focuses on translating ecological evidence into conservation practice. Through collaborations with government agencies, local authorities, conservation organisations, and communities, I contribute to wetland conservation, road mitigation, human–wildlife coexistence, and wider efforts to conserve small wild cats across Sri Lanka and South Asia.