Keeping everyone informed
An elephant broke the window of Mrs Neelamma's home, 69, while the whole family was sleeping. It happened at night about two years ago, in Wilachchiya, a town just 10 kilometres from Wilpattu Park, in north-western Sri Lanka.
Colombo, Sri Lanka, 19 August 2025: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, under its Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN), together with the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), and LOLC, under the guidance of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, launched a pioneering Livestock Insurance Scheme aimed at reducing human–wildlife conflict and safeguarding the endangered Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya). The launch event today was attended by Mr. Ranjan Marasinghe, Director General, Department of Wildlife Conservation; Ms. Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP Sri Lanka; Mr. Kithsiri Gunawardena, Chief Operating Officer, LOLC; Mr. Graham Marshall, President; and Spencer Manuelpillai, the project lead of WNPS.
In a landmark collaboration that blends ecological stewardship with cultural heritage, the Geoffrey Bawa Trust, through its partner The Lunuganga Trust, has joined with the Preserving Land and Nature (Guarantee) Limited (PLANT), to restore and further protect two island locations in the mangrove rich southern region of Sri Lanka. Launched with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed recently, this long-term initiative revolves around Honduwa and Appaladuwa, two ecologically significant but often overlooked islands nestled in the tranquil waters of the Bentota lagoon, a news release from the Wild Life and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) said.
Among the lush greenery in dense forests, they hide behind large tree trunks. You may even see them perched on top of trees, some with their cubs, others alone. Some like the shade and lie on the ground, their bodies touching the cool green grass. Others prefer the hot sun. It is their majestic presence that attracts thousands of visitors, both local and foreign to the national parks of Sri Lanka – to witness that breathtaking sight of a leopard in all its glory.
Mannar, SRI LANKA — The Vidattaltivu Nature Reserve, nestled along Sri Lanka’s northwestern coast in the Mannar district, is home to one of the island country’s largest and most ecologically significant mangrove ecosystems. Recognizing its immense biodiversity value, Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation DWC designated Vidattaltivu as a nature reserve in 2016, bestowing upon it the highest level of legal protection under Sri Lankan law.
Once draped in myth, mystery, and majesty, the Sri Lankan leopard (Pantheraparduskotiya) — the island’s top predator and apex carnivore — now finds itself in the limelight of a harsher reality. Although celebrated as a national wildlife treasure, its existence and more so what it represents – the great wild – is being increasingly challenged by the very force that once admired it from afar: humanity.