Arts
A call from the wild at a young age
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- Avijja Fonseka
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- Photographic safari: Some of Avijja’s favourite wildlife shots
Avijja Fonseka was just three years old when his parents began taking him to Yala National Park where he fell in love with the wildlife just like his parents had done. “They took me very often when I was very young, which built up a passion for it and when I grew up, I realized that wildlife was something I could pursue as a career,” Avijja tells us.
Now almost 25 years later, Avijja who co-founded a luxury photographic safari tour company in July 2018 has built his life around the great outdoors, even choosing to spend his gap year after school in Africa working on special projects involving leopard tracking.
After completing a bachelor’s degree in Biodiversity and Conservation from the Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia), Avijja came back to Sri Lanka and worked at Leopard Trails for almost five years. That is when he decided to launch Vanya Safaris with Amrit Rajaratnam looking to provide an unforgettable experience for those who wish to observe wildlife in a different way.
“You’re always learning, every time there’s some a new experience and I’m most at peace and enjoying myself when I’m out in the wild,” Avijja shares.
Photography is a key element with their tours, for Avijja tells us that on a safari it is quite normal for everyone to take pictures. That was what happened with him as well (although he did dabble in filmography too). “I really enjoy taking pictures and portraying wildlife in a different way to how it would normally seem. I like to take the artsy side of wildlife and portray that in my pictures,” he says.
He is also committed to sharing his love for the wild with others. It was just last Saturday (June 20), that Avijja hosted a ‘All Things Wildlife’ quiz organised by the Youth Wing of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) where many enthusiastic teenagers participated via zoom answering a range of questions on Kahoot.
Avijja is on the WNPS general committee as well as other sub committees including the Youth Wing and says the committee was trying to figure out how to get more children interested in wildlife and conservation with the lockdown going on.
“We just wanted to get everyone involved – that’s why the quiz was mostly based on Sri Lankan wildlife. There are so many things about Sri Lankan wildlife that people don’t yet fully understand or know. It’s always important to learn about what we have at home first.”
Fostering an interest at a young age would create a bigger movement towards conservation. “ It is very important to educate the youth on the importance of wildlife, ecosystems, how ecosystems contribute to the general wellbeing of the country and how it is all sort of interconnected.”
“I think we can learn a lot from COVID-19 with regard to giving animals their space and also encouraging more conservation of both species and protected areas,” he adds emphasising how important this learning curve would be in stopping other diseases like COVID- 19 from surfacing and spreading. The illegal wildlife trade must come to an end, he adds.
Looking to the future, Avijja believes a conscious effort must be made not to overcrowd the parks like before and follow the rules that are in place.