Anjali Watson is a Sri Lankan conservationist. She is known for her contributions to leopard conservation and founded the Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust, a conservation and research organisation.

Education

Watson graduated with an Honours degree in Environmental Studies and Geography from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

and holds a Masters of Science in Ecology from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. Her primary education was at Ladies College, Colombo.

Career

In 2000, she initiated the Leopard Project which is now under the Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust (wwct.org). Watson's work involves understanding the ecology and land-use of leopards and using this knowledge gained to influence landscape level Conservative. Fostering co-existence between humans and leopards ( ''Panthera pardus kotiya'') with a current focus in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2004, she co founded the Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust which is a research for Conservation group that focuses it's research on the country's Apex predator, the leopard. WWCT, in addition to investigating leopard diet and prey, behaviour and general biodiversity surveys, collects data through the use of motion censor camera technology to investigate and identify movement corridors and refugia in new unprotected areas of land where leopards survive. WWCT also works within the protected area landscape.

Awards and recognition

In 2018, she won the Whitely Award. and in 2022 she obtained continuation funding from the Whitley Fund for Nature. Watson was featured in the

Cosmopolitan Magazine ''Cosmopolitan'' is an American monthly fashion and entertainment magazine for women, first published based in New York City in March 1886 as a family magazine; it was later transformed into a literary magazine and, since 1965, has become a List ...

Sri Lanka's inaugural 35 under 35 list. In 2021 she was featured on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

s call to earth.

Publications

* Forest cover and level of protection influence the island-wide distribution of an apex carnivore and umbrella species, the Sri Lannkan leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya''). * Density of leopards (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') in Horton Plains National Park in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. * The ecology and behaviour of a protected area Sri Lankan leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') population. * Notes on the status, distribution and abundance of the Sri Lankan leopard in the central hills of Sri Lanka. *Mapping black panthers: Macroecological modeling of melanism in leopards (''Panthera pardus'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Anjali Living people Sri Lankan environmentalists Sri Lankan women environmentalists Sri Lankan conservationists Founders Sri Lankan activists Year of birth missing (living people)

Education

Career

Awards and recognition

Publications

See also

References