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 ...

Pheasant-tailed jacanas practice a system of polyandry that sees each female maintain a “harem” of males, each tasked with looking after a clutch of eggs.That’s led to unusual parenting roles that see the males incubate the eggs and care for the young, and the females play the leading role in defending against attacks by predators.These behaviors have been documented for ...

Published on Mongabay on 12.07.2022 https://news.mongabay.com/2022/07/protected-areas-not-exempt-as-blast-fishing-blows-up-in-sri-lanka/ Blast fishing is widely practiced in the seas around Sri Lanka, with even marine parks and historical shipwrecks not immune to this illegal practice.Authorities say blast fishers work as part of a network to evade capture and obtain explosives, including by smuggling them in by sea from India.The easy availability of explosives transcends conservation ...

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220612/news/role-of-oceans-in-human-lives-discussed-485673.html Published on SundayTimes on 12.06.2022 The sandy beaches look like barren wastelands, but as you enter the water in the ocean and start to go deeper, a world rich in biodiversity opens up. This space is home to a wide array of creatures ranging from tiny algae to the blue whale, but how many of us got the chance ...

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220508/news/endangered-800kg-giant-manta-ray-worth-more-alive-than-dead-481968.html Published on SundayTimes on 08.05.2022 It is a difficult time for everyone, so the fishermen of the boat ‘Sehansa’ that left Mirissa harbour on May 1, prayed for a good catch. The ocean deity Poseidon would have heard their prayers. They hauled in a giant manta ray and sold it for Rs 170,000. To offload the 800 kilogram fish, ...

Published on SundayTimes on 01.05.2022 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220501/news/opportunist-thieving-native-kaputa-a-menace-in-other-lands-481353.html According to a news report, several Malaysian women had an embarrassing experience when they lost their undergarments that had been left to dry outside. Their initial suspect was a ‘panty thief’, but the stolen items were found in birds’ nests in the area. The ‘panty thief’ was in fact the house crows. Crows have ...

Published on SundayTimes on 01.05.2022 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220501/news/careless-zoo-claims-another-life-motherless-orangutan-drowns-481418.html The Dehiwala zoo’s baby orangutan, aged about five years, drowned last week in the moat that surrounds its den. It was alone in its den on the night of April 21. Its mother, too, died last December. As a rule, animals that spend the day in larger, open enclosures are caged at night for ...

Published on SundayTimes on https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220424/news/fuel-crisis-a-chance-to-create-tracks-for-pedal-power-480760.html Senior manager of the Nations Trust Bank Wattala branch, Ruwan Kolitha leaves his residence at Udahamulla, Nugegoda every day around 6.30 am,, while his colleagues spend hours in fuel queues Mr. Kolitha rides his bicycle from Udahamulla to the office, about 20 kilometres, which takes him about one hour. “If I use my car, it ...

While the economic hardships, fuel shortages and power cuts add a gloomy undertone, nature however, looks to reconcile troubled minds adding fragrance to gardens in many areas through the blooming of pigeon orchids (Dendrobium crumenatum) this week. Resembling the shape of a pigeon, this white orchid known as ‘parevi mal’ in Sinhala blooms in numbers clustered in an inflorescence ...

Published on SundayTimes on 27.02.2022 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220227/news/govt-to-expand-vessel-monitoring-as-lankan-fishermen-continue-to-fish-in-foreign-waters-474348.html The multi-day fishing vessel Sampath 7 left the fisheries harbour in Beruwala in May last year, and its skipper Mahalingam Kanapathi steered the boat into the waters of Seychelles. However, since the vessel did not have a valid licence to fish in foreign waters Kanapathi was arrested along with his vessel by Seychelles coast ...

Talks of translocation; WNPS President says close the park temporarily if needed but let the animals remain in their home. Published on the SundayTimes on 13.02.2022 https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220213/news/illegal-feeding-blamed-for-three-elephant-attacks-in-yala-472286.html While tourism returns to normal in Yala, a number of elephant attacks were reported this week from the national park. The first incident was reported on Wednesday morning when a safari jeep carrying ...

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220123/news/long-legged-gregarious-pink-birds-colour-the-landscape-469705.html Published on SundayTimes on 23.01.2022. Pix by Mevan Piyasena A flamingo colony of about 5,000 has become an attraction in Mannar these days. Mannar’s arid landscape sometimes is an eyesore, but many of its coastal areas and lagoons have come alive with shades of pink and white from a flock of flamingos. During the long weekend last week, last-minute ...

File pic of crowds thronging Sri Pada https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220116/news/if-you-are-climbing-sri-pada-be-kind-to-nature-urge-environmentalists-469211.html published on 16.01.2022 As this long weekend draws large crowds to Adams Peak, environmentalists have renewed their plea to pilgrims not to pollute its pristine environment. “Despite continuous reminders, visitors still discard non-biodegradable items such as plastic bottles, polythene wrappers and lunch sheets,” said Prabash Karunathilake, the range

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/211219/news/humpback-family-revives-mirissa-tourism-hopes-466061.html This article was published on SundayTimes on 19.12.2021 A family of humpback whales are rarely seen in Sri Lankan waters, but a sighting in Mirissa may be a good omen for the whale-watching industry this festive season. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known as ‘songsters of the ocean’ for the sounds they make. They live as a pod and ...

Leonard’s comet code named as C_2021_A1 (c) Bayfordbury Observatory (University of Hertfordshire) According to the legends, a comet appeared in the sky on Jesus Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. Setting the right tone for this Christmas season, a comet appears on the night sky these days, where you may also barely be able to observe it through the naked eye as ...

https://www.sundaytimes.lk/211205/news/satellite-tracked-gull-reveals-migratory-secrets-464385.html Published on SundayTimes 05.12.2021 This Heuglin’s Gull has become the first migratory bird to Sri Lanka tracked with GPS to have completed a full migration cycle. It is also the first known bird to have flown to the European Arctic from Sri Lanka. A migratory gull’s return to Sri Lanka from northern Russia has been charted in a milestone ...