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Kalpitiya donkeys dwindling as development gathers pace
View(s):Wild donkeys, endemic to Puttalam are in harms way due to rapid development and habitat encroachment taking place in the area. 
Increase in the number of tourist resorts, the coal power plant in Norochcholai and prawn farming, Air Force shooting range, civil defence force camps and squatting on State land have resulted in the reduction of lagoon land as well as flat land, the natural habitat of the wild donkeys.
As a result, donkeys enter villages looking for food. Some meet with unfortunate deaths after eating pesticides stored in village warehouses, while some others ended up as road kill. This affected the population growth of the species as well, which has dropped to 425 from over 600, 20 years ago.
Kalpitya Wildlife officer N.C. Dissanayake said that under the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance, donkeys come into the category of domestic animals and therefore there is no legal provision to protect these animals.