A public lecture was held at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute on 8th December 2022, on the importance of conducting population surveys of big cats in our National Parks and surroundings to identify threats and conservation measures. Big cats, in Sri Lanka and around the world are under threat, and monitoring these species using cutting-edge technology and using the accumulated data can immensely support conservation efforts.
Event Speakers were: Dr. Alexander Braczkoswki and Dinal Samarasinghe.
Moderated by: Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya
Dr. Alexander Braczkowski explored two key themes,
1) the need to use the best and most cutting-edge technology to monitor big cats,
2) how working together through monitoring can set aside fierce conservation conflicts over species, funding, and authority, and also discussed case studies from Uganda and its populations of African Lions, Leopards and Spotted Hyenas.
Dinal Samarasinghe carried out a comprehensive study on the population of Leopards in Wilpattu National Parks in 2018 and presented his findings and the future of Leopard conservation in Sri Lanka.
