News
On the road to extinction
View(s):The plight of the Sri Lankan leopard was highlighted after an animal was knocked and killed at the Yala National Park by a vehicle. Only 800 of this species survive in the wild country-wide today and the tragedy helped draw the attention of the authorities to the endangered species.
A victim of the human animal conflict. Soon the only leopards left in the country may be in the zoo
In the wake of the animal’s death, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the government would enforce strict speed limits within the park and restrict the numbers of visitors to national parks and reserves.
During the past five years, in the Yala reserve alone, 10 leopards caught in traps died. Five others died of poisoning three were victims of hit-and-run accidents, while a few died following fights with each other and others in wild boar attacks.
But the reason the leopard has become an endangered species is because the habitat of these animals have been encroached by humans. Hunters and cannabis cultivators have been among the culprits in the laying of traps, poisoning and road accidents involving the magnificent beasts.
This magnificent creature was poisoned
Last year veterinary Dr. Dharmakeerthi of the Lunugamwehera Wildlife Office discovered a magnificent, 7 ½ ft., 6-year old specimen dead in a trap at Amara Wewa in Bogahapelessa.
Following the recent death of a leopard at the Yala sanctuary the All Island Wildlife Officers’ Association has offered a bounty of Rs. 25,000/- for credible information regarding the accident where a leopard was killed on August 28.
Wild Life Officers take away the carcass of another beast which died in a trap