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.
