Camera trapping
Camera traps monitor fishing cats and other wildlife across Colombo’s wetlands, canals, gardens, and urban green spaces.
Methods
Camera traps · field records · individual identification · activity patterns
Collaborators
SLLDC · UDA
Research · Initiatives
How we study fishing cats in urban landscapes
Field studies and analyses connected by questions about fishing cats, urban wetlands, movement, diet, roads, and coexistence.
The work
Studying fishing cats across connected landscapes
We document and study fishing cats in Colombo’s urban wetlands and other human-modified landscapes. Our work includes long-term monitoring, GPS tracking, diet and prey analysis, road ecology, public reporting, and partner-supported wildlife monitoring.
Together, these strands help show how fishing cats and other wildlife persist in cities, wetlands, forest edges, roadsides, and other changing landscapes.
Where we work
The study area
Areas of work
Current areas of work
These are the main strands of work currently carried out through the project.
GPS collaring
GPS tracking has been used to understand how fishing cats move through wetlands, canals, gardens, roadsides, and built-up areas.
Methods
GPS telemetry · home ranges · habitat use · movement paths
Collaborator
DWC
Diet analysis
Scat records, prey records, and camera-trap data help identify what fishing cats eat and how feeding ecology may expose them to urban risks.
Methods
Scat analysis · prey availability · plastic ingestion · camera-trap availability
Collaborator
DWC
Roads and wildlife connectivity
Road ecology work examines how highways and roads affect wildlife movement, mortality, and habitat connectivity.
Methods
Roadkill records · camera traps · highway monitoring · connectivity
Collaborator
RDA
Partner-supported wildlife monitoring
Camera-trap monitoring is carried out with aligned partners when it supports fishing cat conservation, habitat understanding, or ethical wildlife documentation.
Methods
Camera traps · site monitoring · mammal records · partner collaboration
Collaborators
Project-specific partners
Awareness and community engagement
Public reporting, talks, workshops, field experiences, and education activities help connect research findings with people living and working in fishing cat landscapes.
Methods
Public reporting · talks · workshops · field experiences
Collaborators
Schools · universities · communities · partner organisations
Connected questions
Questions that connect the work
The work spans different sites and methods, but the questions are linked: how fishing cats move, where they face risk, and what kinds of habitats allow them to persist.
- Movement through urban landscapes
- Habitat use and connectivity
- Activity patterns and behaviour
- Diet, prey, and risk exposure
- Roads, mortality, and crossing risk
- Public reporting and coexistence
- Wetland and green-space conservation
Research outputs
Peer-reviewed papers and other research outputs are listed in the Publications archive.
Research enquiries
For collaboration, student work, citation, or data-sharing enquiries, contact the project with a clear description of the request.