91% of marine species, 86% of land species yet to be discovered By Malaka Rodrigo While Sri Lanka’s elephant census estimated the number of elephants live in the island to 5,879, an international study revealed a new estimation that there are a total of 8.7 million different species live on Earth. This has been [...]
Villagers and conservationists vehemently reject so-called ‘eco-friendly’ recreation project in Bogahapattiya – Malaka Rodrigo reports This happens to be the International Year of Forests, but little is being done to protect our own forests and natural habitats. Rampant, irresponsible deforestation continues around the country. The latest threat to habitat is reported from the Udawalawe [...]
Study shows farmers overuse pesticides; calls for speedy action and monitoring scheme Some cultivators grow pesticide-free vegetable for their consumption – by Malaka Rodrigo Reports of dicyandiamide (DCD) and whey protein allegedly found in milk powder have sparked widespread panic among consumers, but little do they know that vegetables they consume are equally if not more contaminated, according to a ...
It’s the migratory season, and birds from overseas are arriving to stay out the winter months with us. And some of the visitors are old friends, writes Malaka Rodrigo Sri Lanka is the destination of choice for a variety of migrant birds, and they usually stop over at the same sites every year. This was proved by two feathered visitors ...
IndianAwl Adam’s Peak is known as ‘Samanala Kanda’ (Butterfly Mountain) because large numbers of butterflies fly towards it during the pilgrim season. According to folklore these butterflies fly to pay tribute to the mountain and with the Adam’s Peak season starting next week, this is probably the best time to launch the ‘Field Guide to Butterflies of Sri Lanka’. ...
Will provide electricity to 3,000 rural families Solar panels at the first solar power plant Marking a milestone in renewable energy, Sri Lanka, has commissioned its first solar power plant. It will add 500 kilowatt to the National Grid and generate 2,300 u
Using viral music videos as inspiration, environmental group EarthLanka produces one of its own, ‘Make It Green Again’ to advocate sustainable living By Malaka Rodrigo ‘Kolawari de’ has become a runaway hit on the web, proof that music videos are popular among the youth. The British Council’s International Climate Champion Nilanke Panthiarachchi used this medium to spread the message ...
Published on SundayTimes on 01.11.2015 – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/151101/news/piece-from-the-sky-is-falling-but-dont-be-a-chicken-licken-169950.html Will you be fishing 100 km south of Sri Lanka on November 13? If so, for what it is worth, you’d better wear a steel helmet and, possibly, body armour to protect yourself from what is believed to be a falling leftover piece of a rocket, although scientists say much of this space debris ...
Plan to increase forest cover to 32pc and repair ravages. Published on SundayTimes on 25.10.2015 – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/151025/news/presidents-tree-planting-programme-hopes-to-avoid-mistakes-of-past-169126.html President Maithripala Sirisena’s wish to increase Sri Lanka’s forest cover to 32 per cent from the current 29 per cent has been welcomed by environmentalists who point out that Sri Lanka has been steadily losing its forest cover. Next week sees the end ...
Last week, provincial journalist Priyantha Ratnayake was killed by a wild elephant while he was filming the beast that came to a village. Nearly 50 human deaths are reported annually as a result of intensified Human Elephant Conflict (HEC). Prime responsibility of taking care of the Elephants is with the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC). But can they solve the issue ...
Two weeks ago, the Sunday Times reported about a crocodile that took refuge in a home garden at Rawatawatte. Crocs are making news once again. This time, it is crocodiles from the sea. The buzz about the crocs began last week with somebody seeing a croc in the sea off Mount Lavinia. Since then the croc made waves of news, ...
Adding to the increasing number of leopard deaths, an adult male, more than 7 feet long, was found dead in Nuwara Eliya, early this week, on September 21, having fallen prey to a wire trap. The trap had been set up in Toppass village bordering the Piduruthalagala Forest Reserve and was meant to protect the agricultural lands from wild boar. ...
Pilgrims offer food for Tusker (c) Aruna Seneviratne Not a week passes without a report of the animal community being threatened in one way or another by humans who should know better. Last week, the Sunday Times reported on the problem of over-exposure of wildlife sanctuaries to tourists, local and foreign. The increasingly intrusive presence of humans in designated wildlife ...
Researchers worry that the only known population of new endemic tree frogs Polypedates ranwellai, named in honour of Dr. Sanjeewa Ranwella, could soon become extinct. Sri Lanka, already known as an Amphibian hotspot, reveals another new frog at the Gilimale Forest of Peak Wilderness. Leading researcher Mendis Wickramasinghe of the Herpetological Foundation of Sri Lanka, who, together with the late ...
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/200223/news/horrifying-rise-in-jaw-bombs-brings-agonising-death-to-jumbos-393505.html Published on on SundayTimes on 23.02.2020 Playful baby elephants were half of casualties ..!! The female elephant calf was thirsty. Standing in the shallows of a water hole at dusk, it hurriedly sucked water into its trunk. It then curled its little trunk toward its mouth in an attempt to quench its thirst but there wasn’t a proper ...
(This is the migration season and during this time of end October, the migrant Indian Pitta has been found several occasions exhausted after their long journey. This is another article done in 2009, where a pitta has been rescued in heart of populated Colombo. Since the same can be repeated this year, the article is repost here, so that you ...
Diabetes is not confined to humans alone, so take care of your pets this Avurudu season – By Malaka Rodrigo Like humans, dogs can get diabetes too. Many dogs develop an appetite for sweets, pleading a piece from their owner as they consume something sweet. So the Avurudu festive season is a period when they can develop diabetes or ...
By Malaka Rodrigo The Dole Lanka banana farm that was set up on land belonging to the Somawathiya National Park (SNP), has been dismantled. According to sources, farm machinery has been removed, and young banana trees cleared from a 500 acre area on the east bank of the Mahaweli River. The farm had extended outside the Kandakaduwa Farm area ...
Sri Lanka has been promoted as a wildlife spectacle of the world. But unregulated tourism threatens to spoil this nature-based tourism industry, even before its true potential is tapped. Over-visitation and visitor-misbehaviour have already put stress on leopards in Yala, elephants in Minneriya and even the Giant Blue Whales off Mirissa. These large animals may survive, but there are smaller ...
