Life and death in the wild and Snares that kill

This time it really did feel like the end of an era. And what an inglorious end it was, a gruesome mockery of a powerful, stunningly beautiful leopard that had trodden the tea roads and forest paths of the southern Central Highlands for a decade or more. First picked up on our remote cameras in August of 2016 as a solidly built young adult male just entering his prime, we nicknamed him ‘Ozzie’. Now he – or rather what remained of his body - lay in the long grasses, bloated and obscene, like some discarded oversized toy. Only he hadn’t just been discarded, he had been mutilated - decapitated and missing all four paws, with only angry, blackish-red wounds and glistening white bone to indicate where his butchers had hacked.

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Anawilundawa ANRM Project: Where people, nature thrive hand in hand with mangroves

Located in between Chilaw and Puttalam is a pristine sanctuary that is now home to many flora and fauna. As one passes the Suruwila Wewa and adjoining paddy lands it gives a glimpse of perhaps one of the last remaining tank cascade systems in the country. Spanning over 1300 hectares in extent, the Anawilundawa sanctuary is an asset to surrounding communities. The Accelerated Natural Regeneration of Mangroves (ANRM) Project is one such initiative that has strived to bridge the gap between scientific conservation efforts and community prosperity.

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Lessons Should be Learned from the Tragic death of Tusker Deeghadanthu

We are miserable to see history repeat in such a tragic way and the victim this time is the largest tusker that remained in the Kalawewa National Park ‘Deeghadanthu 1’, who was electrocuted and killed inhumanely on the night of the November 27. This was not a coincidence, but an extension of the experiences by famed Tuskers in this area such as Barana, Revatha, and Walagambha for years. The forests around the Kalawewa National Park are where many Tuskers reported in the wild in this country. However, this was the Tusker that remained in the area with the largest tusks, this valuable majestic resource has now been lost to our country, and if we can learn a lesson from his loss at least at this moment, it will be better for the future generations of the likes of Deeghadanthu.

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The death of Deega Danthu II Authorities in a race against time to reduce Elephant Deaths By Electrocution

The death of Deega Danthu II, an iconic tusker that roamed around Kala Wewa, Balalu Wewa and adjacent jungles in Kekirawa has sparked serious concerns about interventions taken by authorities including the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) to conserve and protect these majestic species. Environmentalists opine that the state incurs a heavy loss in foreign exchange whenever an iconic tusker or an elephant is killed because many tourists travel from far and wide to view these species in their natural habitats.

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Why are US, Japan and India making a beeline for Trincomalee ?

The port town of Trincomalee in Eastern Sri Lanka is known for its scenic beauty eminently qualified to be featured in the National Geographic Channel.

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Trincomalee: The Rotterdam of the Eastern Indian Ocean

A colleague, who calls himself an ‘Economic Historian,’ has confessed that his dream is to concoct a fictional economic history of Sri Lanka, based on the fiction that the European penetration of this island took place from the east coast and not from the west.

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The long road to Expressway

October 27, 2013 is a significant day for all Sri Lankans, the highways sector and the engineering profession in general, when President Mahinda Rajapaksa inaugurates the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway. This is a project that many previous governments have attempted to complete but failed to make it a reality. As a person who has been involved in the highways sector for more than 35 years, I would like to share with the readers some accounts that transpired over the life of this project.

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