DWC concerns should be welfare of jumbos, says top elephant researcher – Dr.Prithiviraj Fernando With the new Government’s manifesto promising a solution to the human elephant conflict, the new Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera says he will treat it as a priority, calling for a report by Tuesday. Dr.Prithiviraj Fernando Many blame Wildlife Officers for not providing a viable ...
Experts urge action to preserve our fossil biodiversity – by Malaka Rodrigo Millions of years ago, lions, tigers, rhinos, hippos and, perhaps, even dinosaurs, roamed our land, but unlike man-made archaeological artifacts, sites where fossils are buried do not get enough protection, experts have lamented. They expressed their concern at the recently-concluded Archaeological Congress of Sri Lanka where the Sri Lanka ...
Sri Lanka is home to four species of Ankutta or catfish. One, scientifically classified as Mystus keletius, has been identified as a species native to both Sri Lanka and India, but new analysis by Dr. Heok Hee Ng and Rohan Pethiyagoda on this species has confirmed the Sri Lankan species is different from the Indian fish and found only in ...
Published on SundayTimes on 01.11.2015 – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/151101/news/international-wildcat-experts-to-meet-in-sri-lanka-169792.html An international summit on Asian wildcats begins tomorrow in Mount Lavinia as local concerns rise over the number of leopards – Sri Lanka’s most charismatic wild cat – killed in the span of a few weeks, some through reckless driving. Sri Lanka is home to four wild- cats: leopards, fishing cats, jungle cats and ...
An attempt to smuggle out wallapatta agarwood worth Rs. 12 million was prevented by vigilant Customs officers last week. The offender had 16.8kg of the substance concealed in his baggage, Samantha Gunasekara of the Customs Biodiversity Protection Unit said. It had been cleaned and considered to be grade 1 quality. The offender was at Bandaranaike International Airport to board a Bangalore-bound ...
Concerns over the fate of Sri Lankan elephants in inundated Prague Zoo – where an elephant died in severe flooding in 2002 – have been laid to rest by zoo officials who say the animals are safe despite the zoo being flooded again, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of its denizens. Safe: Tamara with baby Sita. Pic courtesy Tomáš Adamec ...
One January night this year, researchers Ranil Nanayakkara, Nilantha Vishvanath and Taraka Kusuminda were walking along the Laggala – Illukkumbura road studying the bats, tarantulas and other nocturnal creatures in Knuckles. Scanning the canopy of trees along the road with their powerful flashlights, they suddenly spotted an ‘eye reflection’. Their first thought was that it could be a Loris but ...
forest fire at Rahathangala, Buttala More than 150 forest fires have been reported last year from different parts of the country due to the prevailing drought and the same is repeated this year as the dry weather spark lots of forest fire. The latest fire was reported from Buttala Rahathangala, Lal Sarath Kumara Deputy Director Media, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) ...
Green Movement Blog has exceeded 10,000 posts within 26 months. The blog commenced in June 2011, and now contains links to about 12,000 news items in those posts. http://srilankangreens.blogspot.com As someone whose interested on nature and write on Environment, first thing I do in the morning is browse through all the newspapers/ news channels on the web for updates. It wasn’t ...
“Motorists need to be extra careful when driving in bad weather, as even a simple mistake can lead to accidents in wet conditions”, warns Traffic DIG Amarasiri Senaratne. Drivers often turn in various directions to avoid water on the road. Motorists on the opposite side, unaware of these unexpected turns, and unable to take timely evasive action, often crash head-on,” ...
I’ve been awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) on November 2014. TOYP is an effort to recognize the young people (under 40) who excel in different fields and I received the award for the ‘Environmental Leadership’. I take this opportunity to THANK all those who guided and supported me in doing related environmental work that contributed on getting this award..!! ...
The second day of the “Symposium on Combating Wildlife Crime” as a side event to CITES COP16 was started at Queen Sirikit Convention Centre at Bangkok on 11.03.2013. The law enforcement officers and other involved parties in addressing Wildlife Crime have shared their experiences and discussed on ‘how to tackle the ever increasing issue of Wildlife Crime’. Everyone agreed that ...
In the wake of the ongoing annual Kataragama Esela Festival, environmentalists and officials have called upon pilgrims to be mindful of not polluting the sacred city with garbage. Anything for me? A monkey in a garbage bin full of polythene bags Shasheendra Rajapakse, the Kataragama Basnayake Nilame told the media that the festival that started on August 7 and continued ...
In his book The Natural History of Ceylon (1861), Sir Emerson Tennent says, “A white monkey, taken between Ambepussa and Kornegalle, where they are said to be numerous, was brought to me to Colombo. So striking was its whiteness that it might have been conjectured to be an albino, but for ...
The banned ‘laila’ net is steadily killing off the dolphins, writes Malaka Rodrigo� Illegal fishing practices used in the seas off Kalpitiya have resulted in the death of more than 40 dolphins, investigations reveal. The dolphin casualties have sparked demands for a rigorous crackdown on banned fishing methods. Dolphins are frequent casualties of illegal fishing methods A sandbag used for ...
Last week a Jeep Driver has been arrested for illegally taking out a jumbo placenta from the park. Acting upon a tip, the wildlife officers has stopped the vehicle at the exit of the park and found the jeep driver red handed. He was later produced before Tissamaharama court fined Rs.35,000. Placenta known in Sinhala as ‘wede maha’ is the ...
Sri Lanka’s Hill Country has experienced heavy rains this week. According to Disaster Management Centre, Watawala, Dikkoya and Ambagamuwa DS Divisions in the Nuwara-Eliya District were under flash floods. (http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/33312-met-warning-heavy-showers.html) Experts point out that areas like Watawala had been rarely under the flood in the past, despite area receive highest rainfall traditionally. This surely be hints on that Climate Change is ...
Private campsites at national parks are to be dismantled and removed, on an order from President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The order came at a special Hambanthota District Development Committee meeting held last week, at which a report was tabled that claimed these campsites had become permanent and were polluting the environment. Environment lawyer Jagath Gunasekara said he welcomed the news, as ...
The carcass of a young leopard was found near Patanangala on October 22, around 6.a.m. by a group of wildlife enthusiasts who had set out early to get a glimpse of the morning wildlife. The body had not been touched by predators and was still warm at the time it was found with a wound visible on its side, raising ...
The Government will not intervene to secure the release of Sri Lankan fishermen who have been arrested overseas after allegedly straying into territorial waters of other countries, Fisheries Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.He said the policy would be adopted from January next year as an indication that Sri Lanka was adhering to European Union guidelines. Sharks at the dock of Negombo ...
