Kasia Ruta

ROLE

Kasia is a Conservation Project Officer- in her role she supports the implementation of various field-based activities of the conservation department. Currently, Kasia’s work mainly involves assisting in the delivery of the pond mud snail breeding for translocation programme in Scotland and the global conservation strategy for the Pallas’s cat across central Asia.

BACKGROUND

Kasia has a solid conservation background and has been involved with RZSS for many years. Her keen in interest in both, wildlife conservation and animal behaviour had led her to focus her Master's thesis on investigating threats to small-bodied wild felids (the Pallas's cat and the Scottish wildcat) using local ecological knowledge, and the implications of those threats on the species' conservation behaviour. Some of the findings of the study were used in IUCN's 1st Pallas's cat Status Review and Conservation Strategy. Kasia had also previously volunteered with various large African mammals before joining RZSS as a volunteer, student, research consultant, then as a Conservation Administrator for RZSS and finally in her current role. Throughout this time, she has supported field activities of the Scottish Beavers projects in Knapdale Forest, Pallas's cat research and conservation efforts of the PICA project, camera trapping data management and financial reporting to the EU of the Saving Wildcats project during the pandemic, as well as lending administrative support to the department. 

EDUCATION

MSc (University of Edinburgh) Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare

MA (University of Glasgow) Psychology