​Eranda Rajapaksha

Email: [email protected]

Education
Ph.D., Animal Biology, University of California, Davis, 2014.
M.S., Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
B.S., Veterinary Science, University of Peradeniya, Sei Lanka.

Research
I am a veterinarian from Sri Lanka and I obtained a Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree from University of Peradeniya. I was awarded the Shell Centenary scholarship for the Master’s program in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at University of Edinburgh in 2004. In my Master's thesis, I developed a locomotion score for captive elephants in UK and I remain involved in research with domestic elephants in Sri Lanka.   

Afterward completing this program, I joined the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis, as a resident in clinical animal behavior. Upon completion of this residency in 2008, I began my PhD degree on dairy cattle behavior and welfare. My PhD research evaluated the effects of standing and walking floor characteristics on cattle behavior and physiology. However, my research interests are broad: from domestic cats to the wild elephants. For example, I was also involved in training and handling mine detection dogs in Sri Lanka and finished a research project on feline response to catnip. 

I am now a faculty member at University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.