https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230402/news/if-you-see-a-fluffy-ball-of-feathers-fallen-somewhere-give-it-some-tlc-516056.html published on the SundayTimes on 02.04.2023 Monday, March 27, was the first day of a brand new school term for 5-A students of Sujatha Vidyalaya, in Matara and students rushed early to school But they were not the first to step into the freshly painted classroom. A pair of fluffy baby birds who were in a nest on a ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230326/news/sinharaja-jumbo-emerges-wildlife-officers-manage-to-avert-incidents-with-villagers-515451.html published on SundayTimes on 26.03.2023 ‘Panu kota’, an elephant in Sinharaja forest made an appearance last week close to villages in Neluwa. The elephant was first spotted on March 13 in Kosmulla before it started making its way through the villages in an attempt to make an annual migratory route. The appearance of the elephant saw wildlife officers of ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230319/news/turtle-boom-on-the-southern-coasts-514998.html Published on SundayTimes on 19.03.2023 This year, the southern coasts of Sri Lanka saw a resurgence of turtles coming to nest. The birth of rare leatherback turtles in a protected area of the Matara beach this week was the high point of this phenomenon. From a clutch of about 80 eggs, 45 baby leatherback hatchlings emerged and were released ...
Published on SundayTimes on 19.03.2023 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230319/news/risks-from-crocs-higher-during-mating-season-514965.html Piladuwa is a hamlet in Matara close to where the famous poet ‘Gajaman Nona’ lived. Piladuwa ela flows through the village and crocodiles inhabit this stream. This stream links with the Nilwala River, so occasionally, oversized crocs have been observed. One such giant croc had been seen for several days and the villagers trapped ...
Benefits to be shared in a free and equitable manner Published on SundayTimes on 12.03.2023 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230312/news/lanka-hails-historic-un-deal-to-protect-high-seas-resources-514390.html The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and each country is given the right to manage an area of oceans extending 200 nautical miles (about 370km) from the shore which is known as the ‘Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)’. The ...
Published on SundayTimes on 05.03.2023 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230305/news/after-three-days-lost-leopard-cub-reunites-with-mother-513527.html February 26 was just another day in Yullifield Estate in Hatton, when a worker in the Erroll division stepped into the toilet in his small backyard. He got the shock of his life on seeing a leopard cub inside. The estate management informed the Department of Wildlife Conservation’s (DWC) regional office of the find. ...
Published on SundayTimes on 05.02.2023 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/230205/news/net-entangled-whale-shark-rescued-and-released-into-ocean-510430.html With the hope of getting a good catch, a group of fisherfolk gathered at Nawakkadu beach in Puttalam on Monday. They laid a large ma dela (seine fishing net) in the morning and began pulling on the ropes after some time. The ma dela felt heavier than the other days, and this brought smiles to their ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/221113/news/president-launches-climate-prosperity-plan-aiming-26-53-billion-usd-501661.html published on SundayTimes on 13.11.2022 Sri Lanka has reiterated its call for climate compensation pointing out that his country is one of the worst affected by rising emissions from the industrialised world. The call was made when President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) of the signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ..
President to launch Sri Lanka’s Climate Prosperity Plan at COP27 in Egypt; proposes to establish International University on Climate Change https://www.sundaytimes.lk/221106/news/lanka-looking-to-make-climate-change-an-opportunity-for-low-carbon-economy-500859.html Published on SundayTimes on 06.11.2022 As a high-level UN summit on climate change starts today in Egypt, Sri Lanka and other climate-vulnerable countries will push for the need of having more funds for loss and damage caused by ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/221030/news/first-time-bird-sightings-in-kerawalapitiya-as-migratory-season-kicks-off-500253.html Published on SundayTimes on 30.10.2022 The migratory bird season this year, has taken off with the first-time sighting of a Black-Winged Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni), a ‘near-threatened’ migratory bird in Kerawalapitiya – a birding spot bordering Colombo. This bird has never been seen before in this area during the migratory season. The rare bird was spotted and identified by Malik
The Young Zoologists’ Association celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend (October 22nd and 23rd) with its annual exhibition on wildlife arts and photography at the JDA Perera Gallery at Horton Place in Colombo 7. Published on SundayTimes on 23.10.2022 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/221023/news/50-years-of-educating-lankan-youth-on-nature-and-wildlife-499804.html The exhibition will have more than 200 creations by young members of the association. The wildlife arts section is named ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/221016/news/marine-turtles-get-a-second-chance-while-nets-still-pose-risks-498881.html Published on SundayTimes on 16.10.2022 Fishing gear in Sri Lankan waters continues to pose dangers to marine turtles, and there is little help on shore for creatures that are seriously injured. The bycatch remains problematic. But, in the nearby Maldives, a group is helping to rescue and rehabilitate injured marine turtles and experts point out the importance of establishing ...
Published on SundayTimes on 01.10.2022 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/221002/news/sri-lankan-fishermen-worlds-biggest-manta-killers-feeding-chinese-demand-497490.html Sri Lanka holds the dubious record of killing the most mantas and devil rays compared with all global and large industrial purse seine fisheries combined. A survey of local fish markets from 2005 to 2020 also has revealed that this level of manta fishing is not sustainable. According to the Manta Trust, manta and ...
The Jaffna Peninsula at the northern tip of Sri Lanka, off-limits for decades because of the country’s civil war, is home to one of the richest collections of corals on the island, a study shows. Led by Jaffna native Ashani Arulananthan, the survey cataloged 113 species of hard coral, of which 36 have never been found anywhere else in ...
Sri Lanka’s artisanal fishers are catching more manta and devil rays every year, including endangered species, than all global large industrial purse seine fisheries combined, a study shows. Manta and devil rays, collectively known as mobulid rays, have slow reproductive rates, so even low to moderate levels of bycatch can have major impacts on their populations. Driving their overexploitation ...
The sinking a year ago of the cargo vessel the X-Press Pearl was responsible for the single worst incident of plastic marine pollution in the world, according to a committee assessing the damages from the disaster. The ship caught fire off Colombo and eventually sank, leaking its cargo that contained 25 metric tons of nitric acid and some 50 ...
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/sri-lanka-grapples-with-the-problem-of-its-fishers-plundering-waters-abroad/ Published on 14.04.2022 COLOMBO — Mahalingam Kanapathi set off from his hometown of Beruwala in southwestern Sri Lanka in May 2021. Less than a month later, and nearly 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles) away, the fishing boat he captained was seized by the coast guard of Seychelles. Kanapathi was charged and tried for illegal fishing in Seychelles waters. He was ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220821/news/electric-shocks-killing-jumbos-by-the-dozen-492399.html published on the SundayTimes on 21.08.2022 Just this week, three elephants, including a tusker and a calf, died from electrocution in Mihintale. One tusker was only about 15 years old, and the calf was about five years, according to sources of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC). Mid week, another elephant died of electrocution in Vavuniya and at the ...
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220807/news/ags-undertaking-raises-hope-for-protection-of-other-state-forests-490913.html published on 07.08.2022 Forests known as ‘other state forests’ (OSF) are in the spotlight since a circular in November 2020 transferred their administration from the Forest Department to district and divisional secretariats. Environmentalists have gone to courts against the decision and during the last hearing on Wednesday August 3, the Attorney General (AG) gave an undertaking that these for
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220731/news/109-leopards-slain-in-12-years-risks-rising-for-1000-left-490532.html Published on SundayTimes on 31.07.2022 As the national day of the Sri Lankan leopard is marked once again tomorrow, experts say the economic crisis could raise the threat levels related to the big cats. Law enforcements against trappings and killings could diminish, and as people continue to lose their livelihoods, poaching could increase. The leopard is the apex mammalian ...
