News
New research on jungle giant
View(s):Dr. P.E.P.Deraniyagala, director of National Meuseum from 1939-63, was a pioneer in zoology and paleobiodiversity (the study of extinct animals in prehistoric time through studying of fossils) and his research led to the finding of clues of the existenceof species such as the lion, rhinoceros, hippopotamus and gaur (giant wild cow) in Sri Lanka.
At a memorial to Dr. Deraniyagala held a few weeks ago to honour the late professor’s services to his country, scientist Kelum Manamendrarachchie revealed a plan of conducting further research on the “vil aliya”, described as a separate subspecies of the Asian elephant.According to Dr. Deraniyagala, the vil aliya (scientifically classified as Elephas maximus vilaliya) is a subspecies of the Asian elephant that inhabited the flood plains in the current Somawathie National Park Region and was bigger than elephants elsewhere in Sri Lanka.
These elephants fed on grasses and other vegetation on marshy areas and shallow water which are very nutritious, so they grew larger. The vil aliya’s foot became larger, which is believed to be an adaptation more suitable for a life in marshy areas. Plans are underway to perform DNA analysis on specimens collected by Dr Deraniyagala.