Sri Lanka boasts a variety of wildlife quite out of proportion to its modest size, including a large elephant population alongside an array of other fauna ranging from leopards, sloth bears and giant squirrels through to huge monitor lizards and crocodiles – not to mention a fascinating collection of endemic birdlife. This richness is partly a result of Sri Lanka’s complex climate and topography, ranging from the denuded savannas of the dry zone to the lush montane forests of the hill country, and partly due to its geographical position, which makes it a favoured wintering spot for numerous birds, as well as a nesting site for five of the world’s species of marine turtles.
No animal is as closely identified with Sri Lanka as the elephant – and few other countries offer such a wide range of opportunities to see them both in captivity and in the wild. The kings of Anuradhapura used them to pound down the foundations of their city’s huge religious monuments, while the rulers of Kandy employed them to execute prisoners by trampling them to death. During the Dutch era they helped tow barges and move heavy artillery, and under the British they were set to clearing land for tea plantations – even today, trained elephants are used to move heavy objects in places inaccessible to machinery.
The Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is a subspecies of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which is lighter and has smaller ears than the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), and also differs from its African cousins in that fewer than one in ten males – so-called tuskers – have tusks. This at least had the benefit of discouraging ivory poachers, although it failed to deter British colonial hunters, who saw the elephant as the ultimate big-game target – the notorious Major Rogers is said to have dispatched well over a thousand of the unfortunate creatures during a twelve-year stint around Badulla, before his murderous career was terminated by a well-aimed blast of lightning. By the beginning of the twentieth century there were only around twelve thousand elephants left in the wild in Sri Lanka, while towards the end of the civil war in 2007 that figure had fallen as low as an estimated three thousand, although numbers have now recovered to around 4000 – far and away the highest number of pachyderms per square kilometre in Asia. Efforts to reduce the number of domesticated elephants mean that there are now just 235 in captivity in the whole island (including eighty at Pinnewala).
Following the end of the civil war, the principal pressure on elephants nowadays is habitat loss, as more and more of the island’s undeveloped areas are cleared for agriculture. This has led to conflicts between villagers and roaming elephants, with frequently tragic consequences – 88 Sri Lankans were killed in 2016 by wild elephants, for example, with 279 elephants killed in retaliation or self-defence. Elephant herds still migrate across the island for considerable distances, sometimes gathering in large herds during the dry season around the shores of receding lakes and other water sources, most spectacularly at Minneriya National Park. Large sections of these well-established migratory routes – popularly known as “elephant corridors” – now fall within areas protected by various national parks, but despite this, there are still frequent conflicts between farmers and wandering herds, which trample crops and raid sugar plantations (elephants have a very sweet tooth). Herds are periodically rounded up and chased back to the national parks, though these so-called “elephant drives” have frequently become a source of friction between locals and conservationists.
Elephants can live for up to 70 years, and their gestation period averages 22 months. Wild elephants usually live in close-knit family groupings of around fifteen under the leadership of an elderly female; each herd needs a large area of around five square kilometres per adult to survive, not surprising given that a grown elephant drinks 150 litres of water and eats up to 200kg of vegetation daily. Captive elephants work under the guidance of skilled mahouts, who manipulate their charges using a system of 72 pressure points, plus various verbal commands – a measure of the animal’s intelligence is given by the fact that elephants trained to recognize instructions in one language have been successfully re-educated to follow commands in a different one. The life of a trained elephant can be demanding, and it’s likely that not all are treated as well as they should be – mahouts are occasionally injured or even killed by their disgruntled charges, proving the truth of the old adage about elephants never forgetting (one particular elephant who had killed two of his mahouts was even put on trial in a court of law – and subsequently acquitted after evidence was presented that he had been mistreated by his handlers). That said, elephants can also become objects of remarkable veneration, most famously in the case of the venerable Maligawa Tusker Raja, whose death in 1998 prompted the government to declare a day of national mourning.
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus) is the island’s most striking – and one of its most elusive – residents. These magnificent animals, which can grow to over 2m in length, are now endangered in Sri Lanka due to habitat destruction, although the island still has more of the creatures per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. It’s thought that there are around five hundred in the whole of the country. Each hunts within a set territory, preying on smaller or less mobile mammals, most commonly deer; most hunting is done at dawn or dusk, which is generally the best time to spot them. Although leopards have a diverse diet, some develop a taste for certain types of meat – the notorious man-eating leopard of Punanai, whose story is recounted in Christopher Ondaatje’s The Man-Eater of Punanai, is said to have acquired a particular fondness for human flesh. They are also expert climbers, and can sometimes be seen sitting in trees, where they often store the remains of their kills; they are also commonly spotted basking in the sun on rocky outcrops.
Leopards can be found in various parts of the island, including many national parks. Easily the best place to spot one (if you’re prepared to put up with the increasingly horrendous crowds) is Yala National Park, where it’s estimated some two hundred are concentrated, and there are also significant numbers in Wilpattu National Park, although you’ll have to be amazingly lucky to come across one anywhere else. Block 1 of Yala (the area that is open to the public) is thought to have a leopard density of as high as one animal per square kilometre, probably the highest in the world – although exact numbers are extraordinarily difficult to verify. Leopards here, particularly young males, have become remarkably habituated to human visitors, and often stroll fearlessly along the tracks through the park.
Three species of monkey are native to Sri Lanka. The most distinctive and widely encountered is the graceful grey langur (Semnopithecus priam thersites; also known as the common or Hanuman langur), a beautiful and delicate long-limbed creature with silver-grey hair, a small black face and an enormous tail. Also relatively common, though rather less attractive, is the endemic toque macaque (Macaca sinica; also known as the red-faced macaque), a medium-sized, reddish-brown creature with a rather baboon-like narrow pink face topped by a distinctive circular tuft of hair. Macaques are much bolder (and noisier) than langurs, and sometimes behave aggressively towards humans when searching for food.
The third native species, also endemic to Sri Lanka, is the purple-faced leaf monkey (Trachypithecus vitulus; also known as the purple-faced langur). This is similar in build to the grey langur, with long, slender limbs, but with a blackish coat and a white rump and tail. They’re found along the west coast, while a more shaggy-coated subspecies, known as the bear monkey, is found in the hill country, particularly in the area around Horton Plains.
Sri Lanka’s most endearing mammal is the rare sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), an engagingly shaggy, shambling creature, about 1m in length, which is occasionally spotted in Yala and other national parks. You’re far more likely to see the island’s various types of deer – species include the spotted, sambar and muntjac (or “barking”) deer. Wild buffalo are also common. Sri Lanka boasts several species of squirrel, ranging from the beautifully delicate little palm squirrels, instantly recognizable by their striped bodies and found everywhere (even on the beach), to the rare giant squirrels that can occasionally be seen in montane forests. Flying foxes – large, fruit-eating bats that can reach up to 1m in length – are a common sight islandwide, while mongooses are also often encountered in the national parks, as are rabbits. Less frequently seen is the wild boar, similar to the wild boars of Europe, and equally ugly. A number of local mammals are largely nocturnal, including the porcupine and pangolin, as well as the rare fishing cat, a large, greyish-brown creature that can grow up to almost 1m in length. They usually live near water, scooping prey out with their paws – hence the name.
Sri Lanka is a rewarding and well-established destination for dedicated birders: the island’s range of habitats – from coastal wetlands to tropical rainforest and high-altitude cloudforest – supports a huge variety of birdlife, which is further enriched by migrants from the Indian subcontinent and further afield. The island boasts 233 resident species, including 34 endemics, while another two hundred-odd migratory species have been recorded here. Most of the latter visit the island during the northern hemisphere’s winter, holidaying in Sri Lanka from around August through to April. In addition, some pelagic birds visit Sri Lanka during the southern hemisphere’s winter.
Some species are confined to particular habitats, and most of the island’s endemics are found in the wet zone that covers the southwestern quarter of the country. For casual bird-spotters, any of Sri Lanka’s national parks should yield a large range of species – Bundala, Yala and Uda Walawe are all excellent destinations, and a day’s birdwatching in any of these could easily turn up as many as a hundred species. Dedicated birders generally head to specialist sites such as Sinharaja, which is home to no fewer than seventeen endemics (although they can be difficult to see), and Horton Plains and Hakgala Botanical Gardens in the hill country, both excellent for spotting montane species. With careful planning, dedicated birders might succeed in seeing all the island’s endemics in a week or two.
Sri Lanka’s endemic birds range from the spectacular, multicoloured Sri Lanka blue magpie to relatively dowdy species such as the tiny and elusive Legge’s flowerpecker and the Sri Lanka jungle fowl, the island’s national bird, which can often be seen rootling around the ground in the island’s forests. Common species include bee-eaters, scarlet minivets, orioles, parakeets, Indian rollers, Indian pittas, hoopoes, sunbirds and the various species of kingfisher – which are a frequent sight around water (or perched on cables) throughout the island.
The rich population of resident and migrant water birds includes various species of grebe, cormorant, pelican, bittern, heron, egret, stork, ibis, plover, lapwing, sandpiper, tern and stilt. Look out particularly for the colourful painted stork, the magnificent Indian darter and the huge (and impressively ugly) lesser adjutant, while Bundala National Park attracts huge flocks of migrant flamingos. Birds of prey include the common Brahminy kite (frequently spotted even in the middle of Colombo), the majestic sea eagle and the huge black eagle and grey-headed fish eagle. The island’s fine range of owls includes the extraordinary-looking spot-bellied eagle owl, oriental scops owl and the difficult-to-spot frogmouth.
Finally, one bird you can’t avoid in Sri Lanka is the crow – indeed the rasping and cawing of flocks of the creatures is one of the distinctive sounds of the island. Burgeoning numbers of these avian pests can be found wherever there are heaps of rubbish, and infestations are now common not only in towns but also in formerly unspoilt areas such as Horton Plains National Park, where they have been responsible for eating many of the beautiful lizards that formerly lived there.
Sri Lanka boasts two species of crocodile: mugger (also known as marsh or swamp) crocodile (Crocodilus palustris), and the saltwater (or estuarine) crocodile (Crocodilus porosus); both species live in burrows and feed on fish, birds and small mammals, killing their prey by drowning. Muggers can grow up to 4m in length and tend to frequent shallow freshwater areas around rivers, lakes and marshes; the larger and more aggressive saltwater crocs can reach lengths of up to 7m and prefer the brackish waters of river estuaries and lagoons near the sea. Crocodiles are commonly seen in Bundala and Yala. Despite their fearsome appearance they aren’t usually considered dangerous unless provoked, although attacks are not unknown (including, most recently, British journalist Paul McClean, killed by a crocodile while washing his hands in a lagoon at Arugam Bay in 2017).
Sri Lankan crocodiles are occasionally confused with water monitors, or kabaragoya (Varanus bengalensis), though these grow up to only 2m in length and have a quite different – and much more lizard-like – appearance, with a narrower, blue-black head and yellow markings on their back. Water monitors are just one of numerous impressive monitor species found here, including the similar land monitor, or talagoya (Varanus salvator). The island also boasts a wide and colourful range of smaller lizards, which can be seen islandwide, from coastal beaches to the high-altitude moorlands of Horton Plains National Park.
Sri Lanka is home to eighty-odd species of snake, including five poisonous varieties, all relatively common (especially in northern dry zones) and including the cobra and the extremely dangerous Russell’s viper. The island has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest number of snakebite fatalities, per capita, of any country in the world.
Five of the world’s seven species of marine turtle visit Sri Lanka’s beaches to nest, a rare ecological blessing that could potentially make the island one of the world’s leading turtle-watching destinations. Official support for conservation efforts remains lukewarm, however, despite the number of privately run turtle hatcheries along the west coast.
Turtles are among the oldest reptiles on earth, and offer a living link with the dinosaur age, having first evolved around two hundred million years ago; they also have a longer lifespan than most creatures, with some of them living for more than 100 years. All five of the species that visit Sri Lanka are now highly endangered, thanks to marine hazards such as fishing nets and rubbish thrown into the sea, as well as widespread poaching of eggs, hunting for meat and shells, and the disturbance or destruction of nesting sites.
The most widespread marine turtle – and the one most commonly sighted in Sri Lanka – is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), named for its greenish fat; green turtles are actually brown in colour, albeit with a greenish tinge. They grow to up to 1m in length and 140kg in weight and are found in warm coastal waters worldwide, feeding mainly on marine grasses. The females are the most prolific egg-producers of any sea turtle, laying six or seven hundred eggs every two weeks.
The largest and more remarkable sea turtle is the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), which commonly grows to over 2m in length (indeed unconfirmed sightings of 3m-long specimens have been reported) and weighs up to 800kg. One of the planet’s greatest swimmers, the leatherback can be found in oceans worldwide, ranging from tropical waters almost to the Arctic Circle. They can also dive to depths of up to a kilometre and hold their breath for half an hour.
The reddish-brown loggerhead (Caretta caretta) is another immense creature, reaching lengths of up to 2m; it’s similar in appearance to the green turtle, but with a relatively larger head. The hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) is one of the smaller sea turtles, reaching a length of around 0.5m and a weight of 40kg – it’s so called because of its unusually hooked jaws, which give its head a rather birdlike appearance. Lastly, there’s the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) – named for its greenish colour – which has a wide, rounded shell and reaches sizes of up to 1m.
Sri Lanka has developed into a major whale-watching destination over the past decade and is one of the best places in the world for seeing blue whales, with sperm whales and other species also being frequently spotted. Blue whales are the most commonly seen cetacean off the Sri Lankan coast. Believed to be the largest animal ever to have lived on the planet, they reach over 30m in length and weigh almost two hundred tons. If you’re lucky, you may also catch sight of a sperm whale (named for the milky-white “spermaceti” oil found in tubes in the front of their heads), slightly smaller than the blue whale, though with the largest brain of any creature on the planet. The easiest way to distinguish between the two while at sea is usually by comparing their “blows”: that of the blue whale is tall (typically around 10m) and upright, while that of the sperm whale is smaller and more “bushy”, and also typically slanted forwards and to the left. Humpback and Bryde’s whales are also occasionally spotted.
In addition to whales, numerous pods of spinner dolphins can be found around the island, extrovert creatures named after their acrobatic spins out of the water. In parts of the island, as many as two thousand spinner dolphins have been sighted at one time, most notably off the coast around Kalpitiya. Risso’s and bottlenose dolphins are other species known to inhabit Sri Lanka’s waters.