Most Endangered Species Of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka the pearl of the Indian Ocean has the varied wildlife as the island itself.The wildlife ranging from elephants,leopards and to marine life and vast number of birds. You will have a big chance of seeing the mighty blue whale if you visit Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka has declared 12% of whole country for wildlife protection.It is easy to get taste of Sri Lankan wildlife safari parks and sanctuaries, particularly in the southern and central zones. Sri lanka is a ideal palce to animals in their natural habitat from leopards to marine turtles of the west and south coast . Even though Sri Lanka famous for its wildlife there are number of wild animal species that are threatened with extinction because of human behaviors. Same time there is threatened flora and fauna to extinct. Below mentioned are list of most endangered species of Sri Lanka
Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus Maximus)
The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), also called Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus Elephas and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognised E. m. maximus from Sri Lanka, E. m. indicus from mainland Asia and E. m. sumatranus from the island of Sumatra. TheAsian elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on theIUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. It is primarily threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching
The Sloth Bear (Melursus Ursinus)
The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. It has also been called “labiated bear” because of its long lower lip and palate used for sucking insects. It has a long, shaggy fur, a mane around the face, and long, sickle-shaped claws. It is lankier than brown and Asian black bears. It shares features of insectivorous mammals and evolved during the Pleistocene from the ancestral brown bear through convergent evolution.Sloth bears breed during spring and early summer and give birth near the beginning of winter. When their territories is encroached upon by humans, they sometimes attack them. Historically, humans have drastically reduced their habitat and diminished their population by hunting them for food and products such as their bacula and claws. Sloth bears have been tamed and used as performing pets.
Leopard (Panthera Pardus Kotiya)
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka.In 2008, the Sri Lankan leopard was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The wild population is roughly estimated at 700–950 individuals as of 2015. The Sri Lankan leopard has a tawny or rusty yellow coat with dark spots and close-set rosettes, which are smaller than in Indian leopards. the Sri Lankan leopard has evolved to become a rather large leopard subspecies with very large males reaching almost 220 lb, due to the fact that it is an apex predator without competition by other large wild cat species in the country. Yala, Wilpattu and Horton Plains National Parks are popular for leopard watching.
The Black-Necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus Asiaticus)
The black-necked stork is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetland habitats and certain crops such as rice and wheat where it forages for a wide range of animal prey. Adult birds of both sexes have a heavy bill and are patterned in white and glossy blacks, but the sexes differ in the colour of the iris. In Australia, it is sometimes called a jabiru although that name refers to a stork species found in the Americas. It is one of the few storks that is strongly territorial when feeding.
The Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus Porosus)
The saltwater crocodile is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India’s east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It is among the largest crocodiles and regarded as dangerous by people who share the same environment. Habitat destruction and water pollution have threatened the population of this species Males grow to a length of up to 6 m .Females are much smaller and rarely surpass 3 m .The saltwater crocodile is a large and opportunistic hypercarnivorous apex predator. It ambushes most of its prey and then drowns or swallows it whole. It is capable of prevailing over almost any animal that enters its territory
Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys Coriacea)
The leatherback sea turtle sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and is the fourth-heaviest modern reptile behind three crocodilians.It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell, hence the name. Instead, its carapace is covered by skin and oily flesh.
Red Slender Loris (Loris Tardigradus)
The red slender loris is a small, nocturnal strepsirrhine primate native to the rainforests of Sri Lanka. This is #6 of the 10 focal species and #22 of the 100 EDGE mammal species worldwide considered the most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered.Two subspecies have been identified. The Slender Loris can only be found in Sri Lanka’s forests. They are nocturnal — sleeping in branches or hollow trees in the day and becoming active at night. They climb quietly through the forest looking for food, using branches and vines to help them travel.
Their large eyes give them excellent night vision, and along with a keen sense of smell they find insects to eat, or as an especially delicious meal, lizards and geckos. They are named after their long, slender arms and legs, and have soft, thick grey or reddish fur.
Lorises are an endangered species. Loss of forest cover has greatly limited the habitat in which they can live. Unlike other species, they cannot adapt to living in different places such as home gardens.
Blue Whale (Balaenoptera Musculus)
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whale parvorder, Mysticeti.At up to 29.9 metres (98 ft) in length and with a maximum recorded weight of 173 tonnes (190 short tons), it is the largest animal known to have ever existed.
Long and slender, the blue whale’s body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath.There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, its diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill.
Toque Macaque (Macaca Sinica)
The toque macaque is a reddish-brown-color Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is known as the rilewa or rilawa. The Toque Macaque is a commonly found monkey in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Toque Macaques (Macaca sinica)are the smallest species of Macaca, a golden-brown coloured monkey, endemic to Sri Lanka. Locally known as the “Rilawa”, it is easily distinguished by the toque-shaped swirl of hair on the top of its head, with the amount of hair on the top of the head being geographically variable within their range.
There are three recognised subspecies of Toque Macaque; dry zone Toque Macaque (M.s. sinica), wet zone Toque Macaque (M.s. aurifrons) and the highland Toque Macaque (M.s. opisthomelas).
They live in troops, sometimes numbering up to 20 members, the dry zone subspecies has earned the nickname “temple monkey” as they are commonly sighted in the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka, where many ancient monuments including temples are situated. This subspecies has been the subject of one of the longest behavioural studies of any primate species conducted in the world.
Purple-Faced Langur (Semnopithecus Vetulus)
The purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that is endemic to Sri Lanka. The animal is a long-tailed arboreal species, identified by a mostly brown appearance, dark face (with paler lower face) and a very shy nature. The species was once highly prevalent, found in suburban Colombo and the “wet zone” villages areas with high temperatures and high humidity throughout the year, whilst rain deluges occur during the monsoon seasons but rapid urbanization has led to a significant decrease in the population level of the monkeys. Known as kalu Wadura in Sinhala. It had traditionally been classified within the lutung genus Trachypithecus but was moved to the genus Semnopithecus based on DNA evidence indicating that is it more closely related to the gray langurs.
Meminna (Moschiola Meminna)
Moschiola meminna is a species of even-toed ungulate in the chevrotain family (Tragulidae). Particularly in the old literature, M. meminna often refers to the spotted chevrotains as a whole. Today, the name is increasingly restricted to the Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain or white-spotted chevrotain, with the Indian spotted chevrotain M. indica and/or the yellow-striped chevrotain M. kathygre treated as distinct species. In Sri Lanka, this species is found in the dry zone and is replaced in the wet zone by the yellow-striped chevrotain
Tennent’s Leaf-Nosed Lizard (Ceratophora Tennentii)
It’s not difficult to see why this lizard is one of the five species in Sri Lanka commonly known as ‘horn–nosed lizards’. Each of the five species has a different shaped horn and I bet you can tell how the leaf–nosed lizard got his name. Not only is the end of his nose flat, but also takes the shape of a leaf!
Adult lizards have a very special talent; they can change their colour to match theirsurroundings. Can you guess why this is important? Yep — you got it. They change colour to camouflage themselves so predators can’t see them. Tennent’s leaf-nosed lizard can only be found in the Knuckles mountains (which are tropical montane cloud forests). Like many species in Sri Lanka they are under threat from habitat loss. In Knuckles especially, natural forest has been cut down to make way for cardamom plantations. The tallest trees have been left to give shade, but the undergrowth has been cleared to grow spices
