I am the Co-Founder and Managing Trustee for The Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT) in Sri Lanka. Focusing on the Sri Lankan sub species of leopard, I have conducted remote camera surveys in various habitats in protected and unprotected lands across its island range. Research on leopard population structure, ecology, diet, and human-leopard interactions are also ongoing. My MSc dissertation was on the “Distribution and Resource Selection of an Endangered Apex Carnivore Across Its Island Range – the Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Sri Lanka”. Distribution and diet of Sri Lanka’s other wildcats is also being researched. WWCT’s Leopard Project hopes to establish a comprehensive leopard land use and conservation plan for this endangered subspecies.

Recent news

New WildCRU collaboration paper on Sri Lankan leopards

Mongabay – Leopards and landmines: Post-war carnivore research in Sri Lanka

Selected Publications

Kittle, A.M., Watson, A.C., Cushman, S.A. & Macdonald, D.W. 2018. 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). Biodiversity and Conservation 27(1): 235-263. DOI 10.1007/s10531-017-1431-8

Kittle, A.M., Watson, A.C. 2017. Density of leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Horton Plains National Park in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. Mammalia. DOI 10.1515/mammalia-2016-0139.

Kittle, A.M., Watson, A.C., & T.S.P. Fernando. 2017. The ecology and behaviour of a protected area Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) population. Tropical Ecology 58(1): 71-86

Kittle, A.M., P.H.S.C. Kumara, D.G. Pathirathna, H.K.N. Sanjeewani, H.T.J. Seneviratne, and A.C. Watson. 2016. A comparison of floral and faunal diversity between two small, disturbed forest patches in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands. WildLanka 4(3):133-141

Hudson, L.N. et al. 2017. The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project. Ecology and Evolution 7(1):145-188

Kittle, A.M. and Watson, A.C. 2008. Panthera pardus ssp. Kotiya. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008:e.T15959A5334064

Kittle, A.M., Watson, A.C., Kumara, P.H.C. and Sanjeewani, H.K.N. 2012. Notes on the status, distribution and abundance of the Sri Lankan leopard in the central hills of Sri Lanka. CatNews 56, Spring