Last October a team from the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZSCF) landed in sunny Sri Lanka to discuss a dugong project. In-between these discussions, they dabbled with grantees who received funds that year. I, was one of them. Here’s the amazing film they made on the urban fishing cats in Sri Lanka!
Awareness
The Story Of Fishing Cats
Last year, we were approached by Plimsoll Productions, about participating in a documentary called “The Story of Cats“. We were to be filmed for the segment on fishing cats (obviously!). Since ITV doesn’t air in Sri Lanka, one of Fi’s friends dropped her a text saying that she saw us on TV. So after quite a bit of searching, I came across the video. Due to streaming rights, I can’t post the link here. You’ll have to do some digging yourself.
Endangered Cats, Endangered Lands
After about 2 years of science, it is finally time to get the proverbial ball rolling on the whole awareness aspect of my work. I’m a strong believer that awareness and education plays a massive role in conservation efforts. Yes, science does a lot, but most people aren’t scientists. Have you tried reading a journal article? They are really technical and unless you know the background, can be quite daunting. So how could I expect someone from a non-science background to read the sciency stuff? But, awareness is fun, so I am glad that we got funds to do this!
Symposium On The Wild Cats Of South Asia
After nearly an year in the making, the Symposium on the Wild Cats of South Asia, Past and Present was underway. It was organised by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), and was held between the 2nd and 3rd of November 2015.
How Does A Fishing Cat Fish?
A question I get asked a lot is, “how does a fishing cat fish?”. It’s a pretty legit question right. It’s impossible not to think of a cat sitting at the edge of a pond with a fishing rod and a little outfit, much like Beatrix Potter’s Mr. Jeremy Fisher. The first time I heard of fishing cats I thought the exact same thing. But I assure you, fishing cats have a much wider range of fishing techniques. So far I have identified three. Let me elaborate.
Maalu Pus
It was a Friday. A very boring, Friday. Well, at least I think it was a Friday… Either way, it was a dull day. I was doing my usual annoy the dogs routine when I got a call.
A call about a fishing cat.
