Keeping everyone informed
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is the largest of the four wild cat species found in Sri Lanka, and the apex mammalian predator on the island. The sub-species of this charismatic animal is endemic to Sri Lanka and widely distributed across the island’s dry zones and low country wet zones with habitats ranging to the cloud forests of the highest elevations in the hill country. It is believed that there are less than 1000 leopards roaming in the wild within the island. Further, the leopard is threatened globally by habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade, while in the human-dominated land-use areas in Sri Lanka, the impacts of habitat loss prevail critically.. To initiate and sustain a science-based conservation strategy it is imperative to further understand the distribution and the ecology of the Sri Lankan leopard, specially, in under-studied areas nationwide.
“If there are no mangroves, then the sea will have no meaning. It’s like a tree with no roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea!”
Seylan Bank has announced its partnership with the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) as official banking partner to support the ‘Wild Kids’ initiative; brought forward with the objective of forming an interest in the environment and highlighting the importance of conservation among children through education and fun-filled activities.
The Dung Beetle Project, for which WNPS is sponsoring the scientific research component, aims to build an environmental quality model using dung beetles as a biological indicator. This model will be an important validation tool to determine the healthiness of tea and other agricultural landscapes.
The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) in partnership with Hemas Consumer Brands and Department of Wildlife Cnservation commemorated World Wetland Day by planting mangrove seedlings in degraded areas within Anawilundawa Wetland Sanctuary in Puttalam, together with the local community. The planted seedlings were carefully nurtured and grown to adapt to conditions within the wetland in Nurseries within the surrounding mangrove habitats prior to being planted in the areas that are now demarcated for regeneration and around abandoned shrimp farms. Hemas Consumer Brands has committed to regeneration a 3.5 hectare area demarcated for regeneration.
The Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) is appalled to learn that so-called birdwatchers from
the Capital are visiting Mannar armed with drones, endangering the continued stay, and future
migration, to this unique place of these special, rare and beautiful species of birds. Most are migrants,
some flying in from thousands of miles away, to feed and breed in the hitherto haven of Mannar.
Flamingoes are the most noticeable, hundreds of them, straining the briny waters for the shrimp they
thrive on. However, there are many more, and almost every year, new species are recorded here; a
wonder not just for local ornithologists, but those from overseas too, bringing with them much-needed
foreign exchange to this country.