Animals
Sri Lanka has several animals: elephants, leopards (panther), water buffalos, wild boars, monkeys, crocodiles, four kinds of deer, butterflies, hares, rabbits, rats, mice, snakes, insects, dragons, many lizards, mongoose, deer, spiders, termites, foxes, roosters, porcupines, bats, sloth bears, ant-eaters, peacocks, etc.
 Kingfisher
Sri Lanka has always been very popular with the average ornithologist. The island has 427 species of birds, 21 species which occur only on the island. These can best be observed in Wildlife parcs. Especially the Sinharaja reserve and Adams Peak are places where you can see many birds. In the drier regions there are reservoirs (locally called "tanks") that attract birds. There you can observe kingfishers, storks, eagles, owls, ibises, hummingbirds, green bee-eaters, etc.
The seas around Sri Lanka are populated by barracudas, shark species, tuna, mackerels, dolphins, octopuses, giant tortoises, etc.
Sri Lanka has two kinds of monkeys: the long-tailed gray langur monkey (langhur monkeys) and the toque macaque monkey.
Snakes: Sri Lanka has 83 species of snakes, of which 5 are poisonous, the cobra, russeli's viper, Indian and Sri Lankan Krait, saw-scaled viper. Snakes are mostly found in cool shady places, and they usually try to avoid contact with people. The largest is the python, a snake that kills its prey by clasping and not by poison. This is in contrast to the dangerous cobra which paralyzes or kills its prey by means of poison.
In Sri Lanka there are 2500 wild elephants and 300 elephants in reservations. In the beginning of this century there were still 12,000 elephants in the wild. In earlier times royal elephants were held, killing them was prohibited. The ears of the Indian elephant are very small. The elephant is the largest living land animal in the world. An elephant can eat 200 to 300 kg of plants a day. Furthermore, each elephant consumes about 180 liter of water daily. Many elephants in Sri Lanka have no tusks. It is therefore not killed for its ivory.
Of the seven known species of giant turtles five regularly come to Sri Lanka to produce nests on the beaches of the south coast. All are threatened because of their shield. A turtle can not withdraw his head. In the many turlte farms on the island, the eggs are protected during the 48 days of breeding. The eggs are collected on the beaches and kept on the farms. These farms yearly protect around 50.000 baby turtles during the first days of their lives and accompany them back to the sea.
Very well known are the elephants of Sri Lanka, the Ceylon Elephant. The Sri Lankan elephant differs from the Indian elephant as male elephants (the Bulls) have no tusks. The main predators of the island are the very rare leopard and sloth bear.
Flowers:
Sri Lanka has some beautiful species of hibiscus and bougainvillea, and roses, daisies, ornamental peas, carnations, gladioli, chrysanthemums, rhododendrons and colourful orchids. The trees covered with small yellow flowers are called Cassia Fistula.
Trees:
Very famous is the temple tree with its sweet-smelling creamwhite to deep pink flowers that bloom throughout the year. The flowers of this tree called frangipani or temple flower (Cambodia Flower). The tree can be found in every temple and the temple for the local population is often the place where offerings are placed. Furthermore, there are the flamboyant, the laburnum, the African tulip tree, the mango tree, the tamarind, the yellow silk cotton tree. You'll find them all over the island. The rain tree has an umbrella-shaped canopy. And the banyan tree, identified by the trunks, the sacred tree of Hindus. The nanka is a tree that reaches up to 18 meter height and is also called jackfruit tree. The nanka, or jackfruit, is the largest fruit tree in the world and you must have tasted it!
In the botanical gardens in Kandy you can find all trees neatly classified by the country of origin and sometimes with a sign, which indicates by whom the tree was donated. One of the largest trees in the world, is the baobab or monkey bread tree. This tree can reach up to 30 meter and produces fruits but also materials for rope, paper, clothing and medicine. The bamboo is usually situated with many copies together. There are many types of palms: the Areca catechu (betel supplies for the nuts), cabbage palm (which has branches that can be eaten as a cabage), the king palm (King Coconu, coconut palm, etc).
In Sri Lanka you will find three different types of coconuts:
1. King Coconut ready to drink
2. Golden King Coconut, used to make oil from (for example for a head massage), quite rare
3. Ordinary coconut for coconut milk to use in e.g. curries
Fruit:
A small selection from the abundance of tropical fruits that you can find in Sri Lanka: mango, rambutan, pineapple, jackfruit (nanka = world's largest fruit) coconut, banana, apple, melon, papaya, lemon, mangosteen, coconut, avocado, grapefruit, orange, etc.
National Parks
Most of these animals and trees can be found in one of the national parks: Yala (1259 km2) Uda Walawe, Bundala in the Sinharaja Rain Forest (8864 ha).
|
