Volunteering
Hosting Foreign Study Tours, Official Visitors and Supporting Research Students
The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society facilitated as well as hosted a number of study tours that visited Sri Lanka to observe and experience elephant conservation and human elephant conflict issues, concerns and mitigation methods practiced in Sri Lanka. In addition, these study tours helped the participants to gain further understanding and knowledge about the various challenges that are faced by conservationists throughout the Asian elephant range countries. The study tours also provided a great opportunity for visitors to meet local researchers, conservationists and with officers of government and non-governmental organizations who are working for the conservation of the endangered Sri Lankan elephant.
A team from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. lead by Kara Blond of the National Zoo visited the SLWCS project sites during their visit to study human elephant conflicts for improving the zooÕs Asian elephant exhibit with information about HEC (probably the National Zoo is one of the few zoos to incorporate this aspect of living with elephants into its exhibit design). A team lead by Dr. Bibhuti Lahkar from the AARANYAK organization based in Assam, India visited all the field research, HEC mitigation and community development projects and programs of the Society.Dr. P.S. Easa from India came to conduct an assessment of HEC mitigation methods in Sri Lanka for a report that he was compiling for the International Foundation for Animal Welfare. Dr. Sujit Bairagi, the Chairman of the Dolphin Foundation with two colleagues and an officer of the Forest Department of India came on a study tour to visit the projects of some of the leading elephant conservationists in Sri Lanka. Dale Leeds, the Curator of Mammals of the Denver Zoo, Colorado, U.S.A., came down on a study tour to assist with an assessment of the impacts of the Moragahakanda and Kaluganga development projects on elephants and HEC in the Central Province. In addition to the study tours the Society also hosted officials from funding agencies such as the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Born Free Foundation as well as members from the SocietyÕs USA Board of Directors.
The Society as part of its efforts to support academic research hosted several international short to medium term research students working on their undergraduate and MasterÕs thesis work. Their projects supplemented the SocietyÕs research and conservation efforts. Mark Weckel from the Fordham University, New York, USA established a mark and capture research project using camera traps to estimate leopard populations and density in the buffer areas of the Wasgamuwa National Park. Lisa Haberl from Columbia University, New York, USA worked on estimating parasite loads in leopards. Jenny Lagergren also from Columbia University studied the physical condition and maternal behavior of elephants. Timothy Hankcock from the University of Manchester, England gathered information on human-elephant conflicts in Sri Lanka for his undergraduate dissertation. Georgina Daw from the Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia conducted a study to gather information for her undergraduate dissertation on micro-scale human elephant conflicts in the Wilgamuwa Divisional Secretary Division in the Matale District of Sri Lanka.
