COLOMBO — He may have had short tusks, but at nearly 3 meters (10 feet) tall, Revatha was the dominant bull in his home range of Kalawewa in Sri Lanka’s North Central province. Other bull elephants that challenged him for dominance found themselves no match for his might; some even died in their ground-rumbling jousts […]
Tag: Sri Lanka
Petition: Tell Sri Lankan Officials to Protect Elephants and Their Habitats
Elephants, an endangered species, face a multitude of threats to their survival, most of which are at the hands of humans. They are trophy-hunted, pushed out of their natural habitat, poached for their ivory, neglected in zoos, exploited for various tourist attractions, and forced to perform in circuses. Now, a new threat has joined these […]
Sri Lankans save pilot whales in epic rescue after mass stranding
PANADURA, Sri Lanka — Volunteers in Sri Lanka defied the ongoing COVID-19 second wave to join a mammoth overnight rescue effort to push more than 100 stranded pilot whales back into the sea. At least five whales were reported to have died despite the efforts. The whales beached in the southwestern town of Panadura, about […]
Deaths and media-driven panic threaten human-jackal coexistence in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO — Gayan Chamila, a resident of a village near Horana in western Sri Lanka, recalled rushing to his backyard in response to hearing an animal cry. There, he found a golden jackal (Canis aureus naria) chasing his dog. The jackal then turned on Chamila, snarling. The villager managed to grab a wooden pole to […]
Thousands of elephants in Asia ‘beaten into fear and submission’ for tourists
Scrubbing behind the ears of a docile Asian elephant at a sanctuary outside of Kandy, Sri Lanka, I should have realised this wasn’t normal behaviour for a wild animal to allow me so close. At the time, back in 2009 and thousands of miles from home, it seemed harmless. I was also told the experience […]
Petition: Strengthen Animal Cruelty Laws in Sri Lanka to Protect Elephants
Have you ever scrolled through social media feed and seen a picture of someone riding an elephant, a video of an elephant painting, or some kind of post that included a wild animal in an unnatural environment? While these posts may seem cute or exciting, the reality for these wild animals tells a different story. […]
In Sri Lanka, bushmeat poachers haven’t let up during lockdown
COLOMBO — The killing of a young forest ranger by suspected poachers has underscored that illegal hunting in Sri Lanka, and the bushmeat trade it feeds, hasn’t stopped during the lockdown imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pradeep Bandara, 25, was shot dead on April 22 while leading his team on an anti-poaching raid […]
In lockdown’s calm, glossy ibis finds prime nesting conditions in Sri Lanka
BUNDALA, Sri Lanka – The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a fairly rare but regular winter visitor to Sri Lanka, seen at the Bundala National Parkin the island’s south before it leaves again in spring. So the sight of these black birds in the middle of May left park warden Ajith Gunathunga puzzled. He kept […]