Rama is a conservation biologist from Nepal and Co-founder of Wildlife Conservation Association Nepal (WildCAN), a network of frontline staff working in wildlife conservation in Nepal. Her journey in the world of wildlife conservation and research began in 2012 with her Master’s project on the fishing cat in Chitwan National Park of Central Terai of Nepal. It was the first Master’s thesis focusing on fishing cats from Nepal. She worked primarily in protected areas and adjoining buffer zones where incidents of human and fishing cat conflict also occur. Following her passion, Rama continued fishing cat conservation research in Nepal Terai. She is now pursuing her PhD on the same species.
Since the beginning of her wildlife conservation and research work, Rama has been working in collaboration with government authorities, National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC- an autonomous non-profit organization by legislative law of Nepal), local NGOs, local communities, and scholars from different Universities. She has conducted conservation education programs in local communities and schools of several regions of Southern Nepal namely Chitwan, Bara Parsa, Rautahat, Saptari and Sunsari districts to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Rama determined the status of the fishing cat population in Chitwan National Park in Central Terai and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) in Eastern Terai. As a team, her work in KTWR accomplished the fishing cat as a priority species in the management plan of KTWR (2018-2022).
For her PhD, Rama is studying the ecology and behaviour of fishing cats primarily in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and in Shuklaphanta National Park (Eastern and Western Terai). She is also working to reduce the threats to fishing cats in buffer zones neighbouring protected areas. Rama believes her PhD findings will contribute to the conservation of fishing cats in Nepal. It will support the government for formulating a fishing cat action plan in the country and will help ensure the long-term survival of fishing cats in the wild.
Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance 