Endangered in Sri Lanka · Vulnerable globally
For more than a decade, we have studied fishing cats across Colombo to understand how they survive in one of South Asia’s most urbanised landscapes.
Remaining wetlands
15%
of Metropolitan Colombo remains wetland.
Colombo’s remaining wetlands store floodwater, improve water quality, support hundreds of species, and provide the habitat and ecological connections that allow fishing cats to persist within the city. Conserving these wetlands benefits both wildlife and the people who live alongside them.
Why wetlands matter
Meet the species
Home to the world’s only known urban fishing cat population.
Built for life in wetlands, fishing cats are powerful swimmers that hunt fish, frogs, birds, and small mammals. In Colombo, they also move through canals, gardens, road verges, and residential neighbourhoods, usually unnoticed by the people who share the city with them.
Meet the fishing catTimeline
Research begins
Long-term research on Colombo’s fishing cats begins.
Fishing cats confirmed in central Colombo
Camera trapping documents fishing cats well beyond protected wetland boundaries.
GPS tracking
GPS tracking reveals how fishing cats move through wetlands, canals, roads, and residential neighbourhoods.
Plastic pollution
Research identifies plastic moving through Colombo’s urban wetland food web to fishing cats via their prey.
Road ecology
Monitoring underpasses and culverts helps us understand how roads affect wildlife movement and informs safer infrastructure planning across Sri Lanka.
Research expands
We continue long-term monitoring of Colombo’s urban fishing cat population while expanding research on habitat connectivity, road ecology, urban biodiversity, and wildlife conservation across other human-modified landscapes in Sri Lanka.
Research
Monitoring fishing cats and other urban wildlife across Colombo’s remaining wetlands to document species, behaviour, threats, and ecological change over time.
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Tracking individual fishing cats to understand how they move through wetlands, neighbourhoods, and the wider city.
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Examining prey use to understand how urban food webs support fishing cats and expose them to new risks.
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Identifying where roads affect wildlife movement and using that evidence to inform safer infrastructure planning.
Read moreWhy it matters
As cities continue to grow, understanding how wildlife persists in urban landscapes has become increasingly important. Research from Colombo is contributing to a broader understanding of urban ecology while informing conservation planning, infrastructure, and wetland management in Sri Lanka and beyond.
Field Notes
Follow the project through field observations, research updates, collaborations, and discoveries from across our research and conservation work.
Three hours of cleaning at Beddagana Wetland Park produced eight large bags of waste. On 16 August 2026, our Field Programmes Coordinator, Amavin Mendis, led the first clean-up in a new monthly programme. He…
Read the noteSupport
Continuing this work requires repeat field surveys, reliable monitoring equipment, education, and consistent data collection. Whether you report a fishing cat or make a donation, you contribute to one of the world’s longest-running studies of an urban fishing cat population.
