Four more elephant sanctuaries to be set up in Sri Lanka next year

The Sri Lankan government has taken measures to set up four more elephant sanctuaries in the country by next year, Deputy Minister of Wildlife and Agrarian Services S.M. Chandrasena has said.
The four sanctuaries are to be set up in Horowpathana, Lunugavehera, Maduru Oya and Galgamuwa.
The wild life officials will capture and kraal the wild elephants entering into villages and harming the people and their crops in these sanctuaries.

The Minister says this move would help to minimize the human-elephant conflict and protect the elephants.
He has said that 75 percent of the sanctuary in Horowpathana in a land extent of 3,000 acres has been completed and that Rs.225 million has been allocated for the project.
Sri Lanka's wild elephant population has dwindled in the recent years and an elephant census conducted by the Wildlife Department in August 2011 found that 5,879 elephants were roaming Sri Lanka's jungles.

Source:http://www.colombopage.com/archive_12B/Nov23_1353651744JR.php

කොකාවිල් කඳවුරට ආ අසරණ අමුත්තා

යාපනයේ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර දෙසට
විශාල කළු ගුලියක්‌ ඉකුත් 30 මහ රෑ එමින් තිබිණි.

හමුදා නිලධාරීහු එන හැම දේකටම මුහුණ දීමට සූදානමින් සිටියහ.

මේ කළු ගුලිය පිළිබඳව විපරමින් පසු වෙද්දී පෙනී ගියේ එම කළු ගුලිය යෝධ වලසකුගේ ඡායාවක්‌ බවය. මෙම යෝධ වලසා පැමිණියේ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයේ පිsහිටි වතුර වළකටය. මෙම වලසා මහත් අසීරුවෙන් ඇවිද්දේය.

කවුරුන් හෝ දඩයක්‌කාරයෙක්‌ ඇටවූ උගුලකට හසු වූ වලසා එම උගුලට සම්බන්ධ විශාල ලී කොටයක්‌ කොන්දේ රඳවාගෙනය.

බැලූ බැල්මට මෙම විශාල කොටය නිසා වලසා ඇවිද්දේ මහත් අසීරුවෙන්ය.

මෙම වලසාගේ කොන්ද බාගෙට කැඩී ඇතැයි හමුදා නිලධාරීහු විශ්වාස කළහ.

වනජීවී අඩවි නිලධාරි හේරත් මහතාට මෙම යෝධ වලසා පිළිබඳව දැනුම් දී ඇත.

පැය කාලක්‌ යැමට මත්තෙන් වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් කණ්‌ඩායමක්‌ කොකාවිල් හමුදා කඳවුර ආසන්නයට පැමිණියේය. විශාල ලී කොටයක්‌ රඳවාගෙන මහත් වේදනාවෙන් සිටි යෝධ වලසා අසුවී ඇති උගුල ගැලවීමට වනජීවී නිලධාරීහු උත්සාහ ගත්හ.

වලසා ළඟට කිට්‌ටුවීමටත් බැරිය. ඌ සිටියේ මරුවිකල්ලෙනි.

වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් මහත් අසීරුවෙන් උගුලේ බැමි ලිහන්න පටන් ගත්තේය.

පැය දෙක තුනක පරිශ්‍රමයකදී වලසා හසුවී සිටි උගුල සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම ගලවා දැමීමට වනජීවී නිලධාරීන්ට හැකිවිය.

තමන්ට වනජීවී නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් කරදරයක්‌ හිරිහැරයක්‌ නොකරන බවට තේරුම්ගත් මෙම යෝධ වලසා බැමි ලියා දැමීමෙන් පසුත් වනජීවී නිලධාරීන් අසල ගැවසුණේ හීලෑකරගත් වලසෙකු ලෙසිනි.

මඳ වේලාවකින් පසු මෙම වලසා කැලෑව තුළට රිංගා ගත්තේය.

අඩවි වන ජීවී නිලධාරි හේරත් මහතා අපට කීවේ උගුලකට හසුවූ සතුන් අතරින් වලසකුගේ ජීවිතය බේරාගත් පළමු අවස්‌ථාව මෙය නොවන බවය.

සිත්පිත් නැති මිනිසුන් මහා කැලෑවේ අහිංසක සතුන්ට තනනු ලබන මර උගුල්වලට හසුවෙන සතුන් අතර මිනිසුන්ද සිටින බව වනජීවී නිලධාරියකු පැවසීය.

වල් ඌරන් මුවන්, ගෝනුන්, ඉත්තෑවන්, හාවන් අල්ලා ගැනීම සඳහා දඩයම්කරුවන් මහා රෑ මෙසේ මර උගුල් තනන බව වනජීවී කාර්යාලය කියයි.

නෝමන් පලිහවඩන

Source:http://www.divaina.com/2012/11/11/feature07.html

Are environmental resources being embezzled?

Environmentalists claim the country’s nature reserves and wildlife in general are under severe threat due to actions of some government politicians and the ‘inaction’, and in some cases open connivance of the authorities. The main problem according to them is the sad state of affairs prevailing at the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) has been in existence since 1949. The DWC is responsible for 22 national parks, 65 sanctuaries, five nature reserves, and three strict nature reserves, covering some 15 percent of the total protected areas both on land and at sea. However, environmentalists claim that the DWC is currently unable to carry out its duties efficiently due to a number of reasons and that this has resulted in many instances of wildlife coming under threat.
Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environment Conservation Trust (ECT) accused the authorities of allowing the DWC to become a “demoralized and confused” institution. “Honest officials at the Department are unable to carry out their duties and the department is losing the respect it inspired in the public and fear it inspired in wrongdoers,” he added.
Among the main reasons for the problems at the Department is the failure to fill the vacancy of the post of the DWC’s Director General (DG). The post has been vacant for well over a year now with the Secretary to the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife serving as acting DG. However, the conduct of the DG has come in for severe criticism from environmental groups, who accuse him of a host of irregularities and acts of corruption.
Environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardena and other environmentalists were “deeply puzzled” by the failure to appoint a person to the topmost position at the DWC, particularly as there were more than enough qualified individuals within the Department to fill the vacancy. “There are officers from the scientific service within the Department who are qualified for the position and yet it’s puzzling as to why the ministry secretary continues to serve as the acting DG,” he told The Nation.
Environmentalists also pointed the finger of blame at former Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S M Chandrasena, who is now the deputy minister in charge of the same ministry. They claim the minister also chose to look the other way despite numerous instances where the conduct of the acting DG came into question.
Among the latest allegations levelled at the acting DG are that he has illegally given approval for 4,000 acres of land belonging to the Elahera-Girithale reserve to be distributed among 1,041 families in the area, and also for allowing a massive stone quarry to operate inside the reserve. The reserve functions as a major elephant corridor for herds moving from the Wasgamuwa National Park to the Minneriya National Park, according to environmentalists.
Addressing a press conference in Colombo this week, environmentalist Pubudu Weeratane accused the acting DG of transferring officers at the Department who were actively engaged in the protection of wildlife. “Even the head of the division in charge of conducting raids has been transferred,” to a national park he alleged.
A few weeks ago, environmentalists and the media shed light on the issue of private ‘eco-tourism’ operators illegally operating permanent campsites inside several of the country’s main national parks, including Yala and Wilpattu. However, Deputy Minister Chandrasena and the acting DG of the DWC rejected the accusations at the time. However, the sites were promptly removed after President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a directive when he was informed of the activities while attending district development committee meeting in Hambantota.
When The Nation contacted Secretary to the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wildlife and Acting Director General of the DWC Udeni Wickramasinghe regarding these allegations, he stated he would prefer to answer them in a face-to-face interview. “They (environmentalists) have been levelling many such allegations at me for a long time. I cannot answer all of them just now, but am prepared to go over them one by one and answer in an interview,” he said.
Attempts made to contact Deputy Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S M Chandrasena proved futile as we were told he was attending a string of meetings in Anuradhapura.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa is now the Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife. The ministry automatically passed onto him when S M Chandrasena resigned from his post to make way for his brother S M Ranjith to become Chief Minister of the North-Central Province. As such, environmentalists point out that the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the island’s wildlife now rests on his shoulders. While welcoming the President’s directive to remove national park campsites, they point out that it is inevitable that he will be judged on his conduct in the future as well, with regard to issues facing the country’s wildlife.

Source:http://www.nation.lk

Elephant orphanage stages mass baptism

Sri Lanka's main elephant orphanage has staged its biggest mass baptism, naming 15 baby elephants born in captivity.

Thirteen calves born in 2011 and two in 2010 were given names chosen from among thousands suggested by visitors to the Pinnawala orphanage, director Nihal Senaratne said.
"An astrologer looked at the time of birth of each elephant. He then decided on the first letter of each baby's name according to its horoscope," Mr Senaratne said.
"The lucky letters were published and visitors were asked to suggest names accordingly," he said, adding that Sunday's ceremony was the biggest ever at the facility since it opened in 1975.
Foreign visitors to the orphanage named two of the calves Trinky and Elvina, while the others were given popular Sinhalese names including Mangala, meaning ceremonial, Singithi, meaning small and Ahinsa, meaning innocent.
The orphanage, in a coconut grove about 80 kilometres east of Colombo, is a major tourist attraction and large crowds were present for Sunday's ceremony.
Formally established in 1975, the orphanage shelters 83 elephants, most of whom were abandoned or separated from their herds when they were babies. Many have also been born at the orphanage.
Elephants are considered sacred animals in Sri Lanka and a number of the calves born at Pinnawala have been gifted to Buddhist temples to be paraded during annual pageants.
Sri Lanka's elephant population remains healthy despite decades of fighting between government and rebel forces in the island's north-east, with a survey last year showing there were over 7,000 in the wild.
AFP

Sri Lanka government revokes decision to remove wasp nests from tourist hot spot

Jun 15, Colombo: Sri Lanka Minister of Agrarian Services and Wildlife S.M. Chandrasena announced today that the wasps nests would not be removed from the vicinity of Sigiriya rock fortress, the main tourist attraction in North Central Province.
Authorities had earlier announced that the wasp nests would be removed from the world heritage site which is a major tourist hot spot in the island.
Minister Chandrasena who visited Sigiriya today opposed the decision to remove the wasps earlier as well.
The Central Cultural Fund previously said that measures were being taken to eliminate the wasp nests from the site.
Recently, the visitors to the site were injured several times due to attacks of the wasps. The nests were removed earlier also but the insects returned to the rock fortress within several months.
Environmentalists argue that the proposal to catch the wasps and release them to the Maduru Oya forest would kill them since they would not adjust to the new environment.
The environmentalists also pointed out that it would not be a solution to the problem.
The Minister said that the government would take actions to provide safety jackets to the visitors to use in case of an attack.

Source:http://colombopage.com/

වැව්, විල්, කලපු, ගංගා එක තැන දැකගන්න පානමට එන්න

නැඟෙනහිර වෙරළ තීරයේ තවත් එක් මනරංජනීය ඉසව්වකට අද අප ඔබ කැඳවා ගෙන යනවා. ලංකාව තරම් සොබා සිරියෙන් අනූන මනරම් දිවයිනක් ලොව අන් කොතැනකවත් නැතුව ඇතැයි මේ සොඳුරු දසුන් නෙත ගැටෙන හැම මොහොතකම අපට සිතෙනවා. නැෙඟනහිර පළාතේ ලාහුගල ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කොට්ඨාසයට අයත් ‘පානම’ නැඟෙනහිර සංචාරයේදී අපේ නෙත් සිත් බැඳගත් තවත් එක් සන්ධිස්ථානයක්.
කොළඹ සිට මොනරාගල හරහා පොතුවිල් නගරයට පැමිණ එහි සිට දකුණට කිලෝමීටර් 17.5 ක් පමණ ගිය තැන පානම ඓතිහාසික ගම්මානය හමු වෙනවා.
එක් පසෙකින් සුන්දර පානම කලපුවෙන් ද අනෙක් පසින් මහ සයුරෙන් සහ තවත් පසෙකින් කුමන වන රක්ෂිතයෙන් ද වට වූ පානම ගම්මානය ගොඩබිම හා සම්බන්ධ වන්නේ එක් පැත්තකින් පමණයි. සොබා දම් මාතාවගේ සොඳුරු දායාදයක් බඳු පානම වටා ඓතිහාසික පුරාවෘත්තයක් ද ගොනු වී තිබෙනවා.
නැඟෙනහිර වෙරළ තීරයේ පොතුවිල්, අරුගම්බේ මෙන්ම පානම ද සුදෝ සුදු ලවැලි තලාවන්ගෙන් යුතු රමණීය මුහුදු තීරයකින් යුක්තයි. ප්‍රදේශයට ආවේණික තුරුවැල්, සතා සීපාවා මෙන්ම විහඟුන් ගෙන් ද සපිරි පානම කලපුව දෑසට මවන්නේ රසඳුනක්.
වසර පුරා පවතින දැඩි මූදු සුළං හේතුවෙන් ගොඩගැසුණු ස්වභාවික වැලි කඳුවලින් පානම මුහුදු තීරයට ලැබී ඇති ආරක්ෂාව ඉමහත්. පසුගිය සුනාමි ව්‍යසනයේ දී එයින් හානියක් නොවී පානම ගම්මානය ආරක්ෂා වුණේ මේ වැලිකඳු නිසයි. ස්වභාවිකව ගොඩගැසුණු එවන් ඇතැම් වැලි කන්දක් මුදුනට නැඟි කළ හොඳින් වැඩුණු උස පොල් ගසක කරටිය දිස්වන්නේ අඩි ගණනාවක් පහතින්. අරාබියේ වැලි කතරේ දැවැන්ත වැලි කන්දක් සිහියට නංවන එම වැලි කඳු මතට රූට රූටා නැඟීම මහත් විනෝදජනකයි. පළාතේ ජනයා විවේකී හැන්දෑයාමයට දරුවන් සමඟ මේ වැලි කඳු මතට නඟිමින් විනෝද වන අයුරු එහි යන කාටත් දැකිය හැකි දසුනක්.
වැලි කන්දේ රූටමින් ඉහළටම නැඟි කල වැල්ලේ තැනූ පීඨිකාවක් බඳු මුදුනතෙහි සිට හාත්පස සිසාරා අවට බලන්නෙකුගේ නෙතට අනන්තය තෙක් දිවෙන මහා සාගරයත් ඈත ක්ෂිතිජ ඉමේ නැංගුරම් ලූ යාත්‍රාවලින් නිකුත් වෙන ආලෝක ධාරාවනුත් මවන දසුන සිත් වසඟ කරවන සුලුයි.
පානම් පත්තුවේ සෞන්දර්යය සැඟව ඇත්තේ අලංකාර මුහුදු තීරයෙහි පමණක් නොවේ. අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ පිහිටි විශාලතම කලපුව වන පානම කලපුව ජෛවවිවිධත්වයෙන් පොහොසත්. පානම කලපුවේ ජීවත්වන අලංකාර පක්ෂීන් අතර මහ දියකාවා, අබිකාවා, අළු හිස් උකුස්සා, කුඩා ඇලි සයුරු උකුස්සා, රෑ කොකා, කරවැල් කොකා, අළු කොකා, ලතුවැකියා, සුදු කෑදැත්තා, වන සිලිබිල්ලා, ළය සුදු වැලි පිළිහුඩුවා සහ තිත් හොට පැසිතුඩුවා පානම කලපුවටම විශේෂිත වූවෝ. මොවුන් අතරට විදේශීය රටවලින් සංක්‍රමණය වන පක්ෂීන් ද අයත් වෙනවා. පානම කලපුවේ බහුලව දැකිය හැකි මසුන් අතර කළු කොරලි, කහ කොරලි, අංගුළුවා, ආරා, තිලාපියා සහ මගුරා විශේෂයි.
කලපුව ආශ්‍රිතව පිහිටි කඩොලාන පද්ධතිය ඉතා සරුසාරයි. මහ කඩොල්, මල් කඩොල්, කටඉකිරිය, මුට්ටි කඩොල්, මණ්ඩ කඩොල් හා තිල්ලන් කඩොල් (දැරියා) යන කඩොලාන විශේෂවලින් පානම කලපුව ආරක්ෂා වෙලා තිබෙනවා. කලපුවට ආවේණික ඉස්සන් හා කකුළු විශේෂ කිහිපයක් ද එහි වෙසෙනවා.
පානම කලපුවේ දැකිය හැකි තවත් විශේෂත්වයක් වන්නේ කලපුවේ තැනින් තැන පිහිටි ගල්කුළු සමූහයයි. සුනිල දිය කඳ මැද සැතැපී ගිමන් හරින ඇත් රළක් සේ දුරට දිස් වන මේ ගල්කුළු සමූහය පානම කලපුවේ චමත්කාරය තව තවත් ඔප් නංවනවා. පානම කලපුව අසලට පැමිණ එහි සුන්දරත්වය දුර සිට නැරඹී මෙන් පමණක් සෑහීමකට පත්වෙන්නට බැරි තරම්. පානම අසිරිය විඳිමින් එහි ගිය අපේ නඩේටත් කලපුවේ දියමංකඩකින් ඔරුවකට ගොඩවෙලා කලපුව වටා සවාරියක් යන්නට ඕනෑ වුණා. අපේ නඩේ ගුරා විමලසේනගෙන් ඊට ලැබුණේ ලොකු සහයක්.
ක්ෂිතිජ ඉමේ හිරු කුමරා සැඟව යන්නට තතනන අසිරිමත් හෝරාවේ පුංචි ඔරුවක නැඟිලා පානම් කලපුවේ ඈතින් ඈතට පාවී යන විට හදවතට දැනෙන සුවය වදන්වලට පෙරළන්නට බැරුවා වාගෙයි. පානම නගරයෙන් කිලෝ මීටරයක් දෙකක් වමට හැරිලා යන විට කලපුවට යා හැකි තොටුපළ කිහිපයක්ම හමු වෙනවා. පානම් කලපුවේ ලොකුම තොටුපොළ බලා කියා ගන්නේ “ගම ඇති සුදු අප්පු” මහත්තයා. වෘත්තියෙන් ධීවරයකු වන සුදු අප්පුත් ඔහුගේ බිරියත් ජීවත් වෙන්නේ පානම් කලපුව අසබඩ ඉදිකළ පුංචි පොල් අතු වාඩියක.
කලපුවේ මසුන් ඇල්ලීම ප්‍රධාන ජීවිකාව වුණත් කලපුවේ ඔරු පාරු පදින්නට එන කොයිකාටත් සුදු අප්පුගේ ඔරුවේ පිහිට ලබා දෙන්නේ බොහොම කැමැත්තෙන්. සුදු අප්පුගේ පොල් අතු වාඩිය ඉදිරිපිට තොටුපොළේ ඔහුගේ පුංචි ඔරු දෙක නතර කරලා. ඉඳ හිට ඇදෙන බෝට්ටුවක් වුණත් ඔහුගේ තොටුපොළේ නවත්තාගන්නට පුළුවන්.
අපි ඔහුගේ වාඩියට යන විට බැහැරක ගිහින් සිටි සුපු අප්පු අප ආ ආරංචිය කනවැකිලා කඩිමුඩියේම දුවගෙන ආවා..
”හා හා යං මහත්තයෝ කලපුවේ රවුමක්. මං සීරුවට හබල් ගාන්නං.
ඔරුව පෙරළුණත් බයවෙන්ඩ එපා. කර තියාගෙන පීනලා ගොඩට ගෙනත් දාන්නම්” සුදු අප්පුගේ කීමට කවදාවත් ඔරු පැදලා නැති ආධුනිකයෙකුට වුණත් ඔහුගේ ඔරුවේ නැඟලා කලපුවේ ඈතට ඈතට පාවෙලා යන්නට ආසාවක් ඇතිවෙනවා.
හැන්දෑ අහස රන්වන් පාටින් දිලිසෙනවා. ටිකෙන් ටික රන් පැහැය රතු පැහැයට හැරිලා. ගිනියම් වූ හිරු ක්ෂිතිජ ඉමේ ගිළිලා සැඟව යනවා. ඈත දුරක සිටන් මනෝහර රාවයක්
රැව් පිළිරැව් නංවමින් පියඹා ආ ලිහිණි රෑනක් කලපු දියඹේ කිරල කැලේ අතරින් වහංගු වෙලා නොපෙනී ගියා. සුදෝ සුදු කොක්කු රෑන් රෑන් ඇවිදින් කිරළ කැලේ තැනින් තැන වහලා රාත්‍රිය ගත කරන්නටයි සුදානම.
අඳුරේ තැනින් තැන සුදෝ සුදට දිස්වන කොකුන් ගේ දසුන මනරම්. සුදු අප්පුගේ ඔරුවේ නැඟිලා පුංචි තිතක් වෙලා ඈතින් ඈතට නොපෙනී ගිය දුෂ්මන්ත ආයෙමත් සෙමෙන් සෙමෙන් තොටුපොළ වෙත ඇදී එනවා. සුදු අප්පුගේ වාඩියේ පොල් අතු වහලයේ අග්ගිස්සක එල්ලූ ලන්තෑරුමේ කණමැදිරි එළියෙන් හාත්පස ගන අඳුර බිඳලන්නට හිතන්නත් බැරි තරම්.
ඉහටත් උඩින් වැවී ඇති මානා පඳුරුවලට ඉහළින් අඩ සඳක් පායා නැඟෙනවා. කලපුවට එහායින් කැලේ සද්දන්තයන් කල එළි බහින වේලාව. අතරමඟදි හදි ගැහෙන්ට කලින් විල්ලුවෙන් එළියට නො ආවොත් අලි අමාරුවේ. සුදු අප්පුගේ වාඩියත් අමුත්තන්ට නවතින්නට කදිමයි.
සුව පහසු යහන් නැතිවාට හඳ එළියේ මූදු වැල්ලේ ගිනිමැලයක් ගහගෙන ඒ වටා වාඩිලාගෙන පැදුරු සාජ්ජයක් දාන්නට කියාපු තැන. සුදු අප්පුගේ බිරිය උයා දෙන ඉස්සන් බැදුමක් තම්බපු මඤ්ඤොක්කා කෑල්ලක දවටා ගත්තාම කුසගින්න වගේම හිතේ ගින්දරත් ඉබේටම නිවී යනවා. රාත්‍රිය ගත කරන්නත් කලපුවේ සවාරියක් යන්නත් සුදු අප්පුගේ වාඩියට එන කොයි කාටත් ඔහු පුළුවන් හැටියට සලකනවා. ඒ එන ඇත්තො තමන්ට අවශ්‍ය අඩුවැඩිය සපයා දුන්නොත් බිරිය එක්ක එකතු වෙලා පුළුවන් හැටියට ඒවා පිළියෙළ කරලා දෙන්නත් ඔහු සූදානම්.
කලපුව අසබඩ මානා යාය පීරාගෙන අප රැගත් වාහනය ගමනට පිටත් වුණේ සුදු අප්පුට සමුදෙමින්. කලපුවේ අසිරිය විඳගන්නට වගේම ඒ ආශ්‍රිත ජෛව විවිධත්වය දැක බලාගෙන ඒ ගැන අධ්‍යයනය කරන්නට රිසි වූවන්ටත් ඒ පරිසරය කදිමයි. කලපුව හරහා මූදු මෝයට වැටෙන තුරුම ;බීට්ටු සවාරියක යෙදෙන්ටත් පුළුවන්.
මෝටර් බෝට්ටුවල සද්දෙ නිසංසලේ කලපු දියේ ජීවත්වෙන මත්ස්‍ය සමූහයාට බලවත් හානියක් වෙන්නට පුළුවන්. මෝටර් බෝට්ටුවලින් පිටවන දුම් හා ජලයට එක්වන තෙල් වැනි දෑ හේතුකොට ගෙන කලපුවේ ජලය මෙන්ම අවට වාතය ද දූෂණය වෙන්නට ඉඩ තිබෙනවා. ඒ නිසා කලපුව නරඹන්නට එන දෙස් විදෙස් සංචාරකයන්ට පරිසර හිතකාමී බෝට්ටු සවාරියක යෙදෙන්නට අවස්ථාව සලසා දෙන්නට අදහස් කරන බවයි අපේ නඩේ ගුරා වූ ලාහුගල පානම ප්‍රාදේශීය සභා මන්ත්‍රී විමලසේන පවසන්නේ.
ප්‍රජා සංචාරක කර්මාන්ත ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ පානම ග්‍රාමීය ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන සංගමය මඟින් ඒ ප්‍රදේශයේ සංචාරයේ නියැළෙන දෙස් විදෙස් සංචාරක යන්ට සැබෑ සංචාරක මාර්ගෝපදේශකත්වයක් සපයන්නට සැලසුම් සකස් කරමින් සිටින බවත් ඔහු පවසනවා.
ඒ අනුව පානම කලපුව ආශ්‍රිත කුරුල්ලන් මත්ස්‍යයින් කඩොලාන පද්ධතිය වගේම ජෛව විවිධත්වය නරඹන්නටත් ඒ පිළිබඳව අධ්‍යයනයක යෙදෙන්නන්ටත් සහය වන්නට ඔවුන් සූදානම්. පොතුවිල් ලාහුගල හා පානම අවට මහා පරිමාණයේ සංචාරක හෝටල නැතත් සාධාරණ මුදලකට හොඳ සේවයක් සපයන නවාතැන් පොළ කිහිපයක් හඳුන්වා දෙන්නටත් ඔවුන් කැමතියි.
පානම් පත්තුවේ සෞන්දර්යය මුහුදු වෙරළට හෝ කලපුවට සීමා වෙන්නේ නෑ. පානම නගරයට නුදුරින් පිහිටි ශාස්ත්‍රවල ගමේ පිහිටි මණිනාග පබ්බත විහාරය ඓතිහාසික වටිනාකම් රැසකින් හෙබි සිද්ධස්ථානයක්. පානම සිට කුමන පාරේ කිලෝ මීටර හයක් පමණ යන විට හමුවන පානකල කලපුව කලකට පෙර සරුසාර ලුණු ලේවායක්. පානමට අවශ්‍ය පමණටත් වඩා ලුණු තිබූ එම කලපුව එකල පානම ජනතාවගේ ලුණු අවශ්‍යතාව සම්පූර්ණ කළා.
පානම සිට කුමන පාරේ කිලෝ මීටර් දොළහක් පසුකළ විට හමුවන්නේ සුප්‍රකට කුඩුම්බිගල ආරණ්‍ය සේනාසනයයි. එතැන් සිට තවත් කිලෝමීටර් හතරක් පමණ ගිය තැන කුමන වන අරණ මැද පිහිටි ඔකඳ දේවාලය හමුවෙයි. කුමන අභය භූමියේ වනසතුන් හා කුරුල්ලන් නරඹන්නටත් එහි යන ඔබට පුළුවන්. පානම වැවේ වගේම කිඹුල් වලේ කිඹුලන් බලන්නටත් එහි යන කාටත් හැකි වෙනවා. මහ මුහුද, කලපුව, වැව්, විල් වගේම ගංගා එකම ප්‍රදේශයක වර්ග සැතපුම් කිහිපයක් ඇතුළත එකවර දැක බලා ගැනීමේ අවස්ථාව ඔබට උදා වෙන්නේ පානම් පත්තුවෙදි විතරයි.
ඈත අතීතයේ දී ඌව වෙල්ලස්ස කැරැල්ලෙන් පලා ආ උඩරට සිංහලයන් මුලින්ම පදිංචි වුණේ පානම අසල ප්‍රදේශවල. මැදගම, මීයන්ගොඩ, හැලව, රදැල්ල වැනි ප්‍රදේශවල මුලින්ම පදිංචි වූ ඔවුන් විවිධ දුෂ්කරතා හේතුවෙන් එම ප්‍රදේශ අතහැර පානම පදිංචි වී සිටිනවා. හේන් ගොවිතැන ප්‍රධාන ජීවිකාව කරගත් පානම වැසියන් ඔවුන්ටම ආවේණික සිරිත් විරිත් හා සංස්කෘතික අංග පාරම්පරිකව රැකගෙන එන පිරිසක්. පානම අයත්වන්නේ මඩකලපුව පරිපාලන දිස්ත්‍රික්කයට.
මුස්ලිම් වැසියන් බහුලව වෙසෙන පානම, සිංහල ජනතාවත් මුස්ලිම් ජනතාවත් ඉතා සුහදව ජීවත් වෙනවා. පානම වෙසෙන සිංහලයන් බොහෝ දෙනකුට ද්‍රවිඩ භාෂාව හොඳින් කතාබහ කරන්ට පුළුවන්. ඒ වගේම හොඳ සිංහල උඩරට වාසගම් එක්කම ද්‍රවිඩ වාසගමුත් එකට යෙදී ඇති අයුරු බහුලව දැකිය හැකියි. පානම සංචාරයේ යෙදෙන ඔබට සොබා දහමේ අපූරු දායාද රාශියක් දැක බලාගන්නවා වගේම පානම ජන ජීවිතය ගැනත් බොහෝ දේ ඉගෙන ගන්නට අවස්ථාව ලැබෙනවා සිකුරුයි.

සාගරිකා දිසානායක ජයසිංහ

ඡායාරූප – දුෂ්මන්ත මායාදුන්න

Source:http://silumina.lk/2012/06/17/_art.asp?fn=ay1206172

Chief vet arrested for animal skulls stolen from Sri Lanka's national zoo

Jun 10, Colombo: Sri Lanka police have arrested two people in suspicion of stealing several animal skulls from Sri Lanka's National Zoological Gardens.

The Dehiwala Police have arrested the Chief Veterinary Surgeon of the zoo and a veterinary assistant in connection with the three missing skulls, the Daily Mirror reported.

According to the police the arrested veterinary assistant had provide information that led to the arrest of the Chief Veterinary Surgeon.

The suspects have been produced before the Mt. Lavinia Chief Magistrate who had remanded them till June 12.

The skulls of a lion, a tiger and a jaguar that were stored in a deep freezer had gone missing. The animals have died of natural causes, according to the Zoo officials.

Dehiwala police are conducting further inquiries to recover the skulls.

Source:http://www.colombopage.com/archive_12/Jun10_1339343837CH.php

Mass naming of baby elephants

Sri Lanka’s main elephant orphanage staged its biggest mass naming ceremony yesterday. Getting names will be 15 baby elephants born in captivity, an official said.

Thirteen babies born last year and two in 2010 were given names chosen from among thousands suggested by visitors to the Pinnawala orphanage, director Nihal Senaratne said.

“An astrologer looked at the time of birth of each elephant. He then decided on the first letter of each baby’s name according to its horoscope,” Senaratne told AFP when contacted by telephone.
“The lucky letters were published and visitors were asked to suggest names accordingly,” he said, adding that Sunday’s ceremony was the biggest ever at the facility since it opened in 1975.

Foreign visitors to the orphanage named two of the babies Trinky and Elvina, while the others were given popular Sinhalese names including Mangala (meaning ceremonial), Singithi (small) and Ahinsa (innocent).
The orphanage, in a coconut grove about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Colombo, is a major tourist attraction and large crowds were present for Sunday’s ceremony.

Babies are fed gallons of milk in public and the entire herd is taken across a main road to a nearby river at bathtime in a ritual that has become hugely popular with visitors.

Formally established in 1975, the orphanage shelters 83 elephants, most of whom were abandoned or separated from their herds when they were babies. Many have also been born at the orphanage.
Elephants are considered sacred animals and a number of the babies born at Pinnawala have been gifted to Buddhist temples to be paraded during annual pageants.

Sri Lanka’s elephant population remains healthy despite decades of fighting between government and rebel forces in the island’s north-east, the first survey since the end of the bloody civil war showed last year.
The survey showed the country had 7,379 elephants living in the wild, despite fears that the population had dwindled to an estimated 5,350. The country boasted 12,000 elephants in 1900.

The survey carried out in August last year counted 1,107 baby elephants in the wild, officials said.
The 15 babies were named: Singithi, Ahinsa, Themiya, Wanamali, Trinky, Elvina, Nandi, Mangala, Annuththara, Jeevaka, Kadol, Isira, Bimuthi, Aithi and Gagana.

Source:http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/06/11/news11.asp

East coast threatened by coral-eating star fish

As the world celebrated World Oceans Day on June 8, environmentalists here are concerned about a rapidly growing coral-eating startfish, in the East coast.

Marine naturalist Prasanna Weerakkody issued this warning after spotting an increased population of the Crown of Thorn Starfish in certain areas of the Coral Reef in Pigeon Island, in Trincomalee.The Crown of Thorn Starfish (COT) is a large sea starfish that lives and preys on live coral, destroying them in the process. They have an interesting way of feeding on the corals by turning inside out their gastric sac (stomach) through their mouth, covering their food with the sac and digesting it with enzymes.

Mr. Weerakkody had observed 28 large Crown of Thorn starfish in a southern section of Pigeon Island reef and extensive feeding scars on the coral.

 Crown of Thorn starfish feeding on the corals at Pigeon Island

If the population density of Crown of Thorn is spread over more than 20-30 per hectare it is considered an outbreak . The present density observed on a casual dive was about double that density, he said. Therefore the true extent of the infestation is expected to be much higher as a greater part of the population may not be visible on a casual observation.

The Crown of Thorn has a mysterious life cycle. The starfish releases eggs and sperm into the water and when the eggs are fertilized naturally, they develop into a microscopic larvae stage that spends two to four weeks drifting as plankton in ocean currents. The juveniles settle on the reef . They live among rocks and rubble on the reef and are almost invisible until they are about six months old.

Arjan Rajasuriya of NARA too has observed the increase of Crown of Thorn starfish on a nearby coral reef in Dutch Bay in Trincomalee during a dive about two weeks ago. Mr. Rajasuriya recalling an outbreak of COT in the mid 70s said it had damaged many of the coral reefs in the East coast. He said a large number of snorkeling volunteers were employed to pick the COTs and bury them in the sand.

Mr. Rajasuriya fears that changing environmental conditions in the reef  could result in another outbreak. The floods in the East last year too may have contributed to an increased population of the star fish, the coral expert points out. The runoff water that ended in the sea that brings with it large amount of sediments and enriches the sea water with nutrients could have assisted the Crown of Thorn larvae to survive by producing enough food.

Global Warming too could have provided conditions for larvae to survive. Mr. Rajasuriya said that a single COT can lay more than two million eggs, so given the right conditions they can survive and an outbreak of Thorn of Crown can be as devastating as an outbreak of a swarm of Locust. Mr. Rajasuriya stressed the importance of monitoring the Crown of Thorn populations .

Two of the most widely tested and successful ways of controlling an outbreak of the Crown of Thorn Starfish are the physical removal of each and every star fish or killing them by injecting sodium bisulfate (dry acid) solution, he said.

DWC needs a dedicated Marine Unit
Pigeon Island has been declared a Marine National Park together with Hikkaduwa and Kalpitiya’s Bar Reef. The management of these marine national parks comes under the purview of the Department of Wildlife Conservation. But the department does not have a proper marine unit which has been highlighted by the Sunday Times.

An outbreak of Crown of Thorn starfish doesn’t happen overnight and a well equipped marine unit would have been able to detect such a situation. But the department is trying to manage the Marine National Parks similarly to the way they administer the terrestrial national parks such as Yala, the Sunday Times learns. Even officers who have been trained in diving have been transferred to land based national parks.

Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120610/News/nws_47.html

සීගිරි පාලකයනට ඇමැතිගෙන් බඹර ප්‍රහාරයක්

2012 ජූනි මස 11 06:49:04 | කාංචන කුමාර ආරියදාස

Share සීගිරි ගලේ බඹර කූඩු ඉවත් කිරීමට මධ්‍යම සංස්කෘතික අරමුදලට ඉඩ නොදෙන බව වනජීවී ඇමැති එස් ම් චන්ද්‍රසේන මහතා පවසයි. අභය භූමියක සිටින සතුන් ගැන තීරණ ගැනීමට හැකි වනුයේ වනජීවී දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට පමණක් බවද ඇමති කියයි.

ඉදරි දින කීපදේයී බඹර කූඩු කඩා මාදුඔය රක්ෂිතයට රැගෙනගොස් දැමීමට සැලසුම් කැර ඇතැයිද දැනටමත් ඒ සඳහා දක්ෂයන් දෙදෙනෙකු ඉදිරිපත්වී සිටින බවද මධ්‍යම සංස්කෘතික අරමුදලේ සීගිරි ව්‍යාපෘති කලමණාකරු වජිර පර්ඩිනැන්ඩස් මහතා කියයි.

දිගින් දිගටම සීගිරිය නැරඹීමට පැමිණි සංචාරකයන්ට එල්ලවන බඹර ප්‍රහාර හේතුවෙන් බඹරුන්ට කරදරයක් නොවන ආකාරයෙන්  ඉවත් කිරීම සිදුකිරීමටත් අවධානය යොමුවී තිබෙන බවත් ඒ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

ගොවිජනසේවා හා වනජීවී අමාත්‍ය එස් එම් චන්ද්‍රසේන මහතා කීවේ සීගිරි අභයභූමියේ සිටින කිසිදු සතෙකු රැගෙන යෑම හෝ ඒ අයට හිංසා පීඩා කිරීමට ඉඩ නොදෙන බවයි. අභයභූමියක සිටින සතුන් ගැන තීරණය ගැනීමට හැක්කේ වන ජීවී දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට බවද අවධාරණය කළේය.

Source:http://lankadeepa.lk/index.php/articles/47574

Let it bee, don’t kill them: Experts

Indispensable to mankind’s food chain, extinction of the bee would cause widespread famines leading to starvation en masse

By Malaka Rodrigo

Recently, the management of the newly opened Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo had their hands full, trying to rid the building of a swarm of giant honeybees (bambaras) or Apis dorsata as they are scientifically known, colonising the steel structures of the building. Even though the hives were built high, concerns for the safety of visitors to the theatre, prompted the authorities to have the bee colonies removed from the building. On expert advice, it was decided to smoke out the bees and this was successful. Sources at the Theatre said that the bees were unharmed in the process, even though the hives were burnt to prevent them from returning. Sri Lanka’s foremost bee researcher Dr. R.W.K. Punchihewa said that bees play an important role in the ecosystem by pollinating flowers, and hence, need to be protected. “If bees become extinct, there would be famines, with people dying of starvation.” he said. As a National Action Plan to conserve these important pollinators, a programme called “National Pollinator Initiative” was launched recently by the Biodiversity Secretariat, with Dr. Punchihewa chairing this committee comprising eminent scientists. Dr. Punchihewa pointed out that the giant boneybee or the bambara is the most important pollinator among other insects in the Sri Lankan context. The bambara moves from the coast towards the central highlands while pollinating flowers in bloom on different trees and plants at different times. Sri Lanka has over 4,000 flowering plants and insects and primarily bees are responsible for pollinating over 90% of them. Silence please, if attacked, make a beeline to the cage By Sonja Candappa On Friday, the Central Cultural Fund officers held discussions with Wildlife officials on whether or not to move the giant honey bees away from Sigiriya, to protect visitors. Fund Sigiriya Project Manager Vajira Ferdinando said the main reasons for the bee attacks are the hot and windy conditions and the noisy conduct of the visitors. The Central Cultural Fund has classified three areas on Sigiriya as high risk areas. They are the top of the rock, the lion’s paws and the frescoes pocket, with the area around the iron ladder, between the lion’s paw and the top of the rock, classified as the most dangerous. “The bees don’t attack unless they are disturbed. They are disturbed by loud noise from visitors,” Mr. Ferdinando said, adding it is mostly local tourists who are noisy. Mr. Ferdinando went on to say that protective suits are available to be worn before entering these risky areas. These suits are made of rexene and are heavy and most visitors opt out of wearing this protective outfit because of the oppressive discomfort when worn. Hence, in the event of a bee attack, one needs to make a beeline to a cage covered with mesh to escape the attack. Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120610/News/nws_48.html

Ocean fish populations dropping to alarmingly low levels

If over-fishing continues, commercial marine species could go the way of Lanka’s legendary pearl fisheries, which died out completely, warns environmentalist.

Malaka Rodrigo reports

Over-fishing is reducing fish populations to dangerously low levels in the Indian Ocean and seas around the world, warned fisheries experts. Dr. Rekha Maldeniya of the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) delivered the keynote speech at a seminar on Marine Biodiversity, on May 22, which was designated the International Day on Biological Diversity. Most of the common commercial fish stocks, including fish like the hurulla (herring), are depleted by over-exploitation, said Dr. Maldeniya, adding that sea cucumber, chank, lobster and shrimp are high on the list of threatened species. The expert quoted findings in the Fisheries Resources Survey, conducted over a four-year period (2006-2010). Coastal fish are the most in danger, but many offshore fish stocks, including tuna and shark, are over-fished, the expert said. Over-fishing led to the demise of the pearl oyster stocks, in Mannar, Dr. Maldeniya reminded the audience. Sri Lanka was once famous for its pearls, but that industry has died out completely, and the same fate awaits other fish species unless precaution is taken, she said. Management decisions are being delayed by a lack of sufficient data for a good understanding of the country’s coastal and marine ecosystems. “There is a lot of ongoing research on land-based ecosystems, but not enough research on marine ecosystems. Marine biodiversity research is expensive, and we do not have enough trained people to do the research. Even the little research output we have, such as the Environmental Impact Assessments, is under-utilised. While our main concern is commercially valuable fish species, other marine creatures are also under great pressure.” Weak enforcement of laws and regulations has also contributed to the decline in coastal fish stocks. Dynamiting and the continued use of banned types of fishing nets must end if fish stocks are to be maintained. Some countries use large nets such as the purse seine to catch tons of fish. Such action depletes stocks very quickly. Taking management action, the expert said, is not easy, as many fish stocks overlap ocean areas belonging to different countries. Some pelagic fish, like tuna, are migratory, so protection by one country alone does not ensure a species’ survival. All marine habitats are interconnected. For example, certain marine fish come to estuaries to breed, and if the estuaries are not protected, the species is threatened. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, destructive fishing methods, pollution, the spread of invasive alien species – all are serious threats to marine life. Sri Lanka exports 20,000 metric tons of fish a year. A total of 650,000 people are employed in the fisheries industry, including 150,000 fishermen, 100,000 in fishing-related services, and 400,000 in the fish trade. Up to 2.4 million persons are sustained by fish consumption. Fish species contribute to 70 per cent of the country’s animal protein consumption. How much life is there in the sea? The marine biodiversity found around Sri Lanka ranges from microscopic algae to the giant Blue whale. During a 10-year period, from 2000 to 2010, scientists around the world collaborated in an unprecedented effort to determine how much life there is in the sea. The Census of Marine Life, carried out under the Convention of Biodiversity, involved 2,700 scientists from more than 80 countries. They studied surface seawater and probed the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, sailed tropical seas and explored ice-strewn oceans in the Arctic and the Antarctic. By the time the census was concluded, a total of 1,200 new species had been added to the known roster of life in the sea. Scientists are still working their way through another 5,000 specimens to determine whether they are new discoveries. The number of known marine species is estimated at around 250,000. In its final report, the census team suggested the number could be at least a million, while others believe the figure could be double that. Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120527/News/nws_24.html

There’s a bark for every snakebite: Banda veda

E.M.Banda from a remote village in the hills says he has cured more than 3,000 snakebite victims

By Wasantha Ramanayake

He is a simple old man from a remote village, claiming to have cured/saved more than 3,000 snakebite victims, free of charge. It is not because he is rich, but considers it unethical to charge a fee from a person who is already in distress. E.M. Banda, 84, is a native snakebite doctor, residing in a simple house, “Veda Nivasa”, in Wagolla, Palle-Inguruwatte, Inguruwatte, Mawathagama, among hills accessible via a difficult narrow road, a few kilometres away from Watareka junction, on the Mawathagama-Rambukkana road. Banda with his daughter-in-law He lives with his daughter-in-law, who is looking after him and helped us by repeating our questions loudly as he is hard of hearing. His wife, and son had passed away leaving him with his daughter-in-law and grand children. He was born in 1929, and studied at Watareka School, a few kilometres from his home. His mother died when he was 16. He could still remember how the children, biting a piece of stick, crawled into trenches, to hide from the Japanese bombers.His father, E.M. Dingiri Banda was a famous native snakebite doctor. There were four children, two girls and two boys. Banda was the only child who followed in his father’s footsteps, to become a native doctor. “Father always said that I could not be a good doctor, he always expected more from me,” he said. His father died in 1967. Banda claims to have effective snake-charms against cobras and mapilas. For cobras, he would sprinkle sand, on which a charm has been recited, around the compound of the house, which will make it out of bounds for reptiles. For mapilas, it is a written charm that hung on the wall. According to him, deadly venomous snakes are a number of mapila species, cobras, vipers, and kraits. “When there’s protection, even a mongoose could not come into the compound,” he said. “None whom I have treated to date, have died,” he declared. He could not say how many patients he had treated, but believes it could be more than 3,000, since he began practising,” he added. He said it is difficult to treat a person who was unconscious. “First I use nasnaya, a mixture of herbs to treat those who are unconscious, and once the person regains consciousness, he could be treated. I have never sent anybody to government hospitals for treatment,”he said. Commenting on not charging a fees he said, “How can I charge a fee from someone who is in distress? But of course, most of them visit me with gifts, after they are cured.” He cultivates paddy and has a banana cultivation, although the market is very poor, he says. His elder brother lives in Kurunegala, looking after his rubber trees and gets an income. “I always work. I am used to working a lot,” he said. “A snakebite victim fears for his life. Calm the victim and make him/her lie down, assuring of a doctor’s attention soon. Then apply some lemon on the bite, and apply a tourniquet above the bite, with a hair,” says Dingiri Banda when discussing first aid steps. He said a strip of bark from the thel endaru (castor oil) tree could be used to tie up the place just above the bite. Medical assistance should be sought immediately. He does not recommend washing with water. His advice is to avoid places frequented by snakes such as termite hills, undergrowths and to light one’s way at night. He said there is a proven first aid to spider as well as snakebites. “Take divi kaduru (Eve’s apple) leaves, peel the bark of the tree and some raw turmeric and common salt. Pound them in a mortar and heat the mixture in a pan. Apply the mixture on the bite. This could relieve the pain,” he said. For paththaya or centipede bite, ekaweriya (rauwolfiaroot) leaves with lemon juice, and for wasp attacks karanda roots should be ground with lemon juice. For spider-bites, he recommends thinly sliced divipahuru leaves mixed with raw, ground turmeric and salt mixture to be mildly heated and applied on the bite. Divi kaduru (above) and ekaweriya (below):Some of the medicinal plants used by him. Pix by Mangala Weerasekera He noted that Saturdays and Sundays are regarded as days on which snakebites are difficult to cure. “It is a pity that most young people today do not know what the trees and plants around them are,” he lamented. He said that certain plants are difficult to find. “Twenty- thirty years ago, there were fewer houses and trees and plants were everywhere,” he added. He has some of the medicinal plants in his home garden. “Earlier, people knew most of the medicinal plants, because they took native treatment. They were not used to western medicines, as they have to go a long way to a Government hospital,” he observed. Answering the question whether snakes shouldbe spared, he said, “They should not be killed, they are part of our world. Generally, snakes do not bite, unless somebody steps on them accidentally, or handles them. But there are occasions when they could be angry because they are disturbed while mating or if you happen to cross their paths, when they are after some prey,” he said. He said there are less snakes in their home gardens now, as there are more houses and open spaces. But there are more snakes during the rainy season, and also during the paddy harvesting season in paddy fields and also in rubber estates. Commenting on who will succeed him in the line of curing snakebite victims, he said he has three daughters of whom one lives in Polpithigama in the Kurunegala district, who does some practice. The other two are afraid to take on the responsibility he says. “My daughter-in-law however is competent and confident. She can treat and also knows some charms,” he revealed. He said that many have expressed the wish to share his knowledge, but he has already decided who should carryon his work. “It should be my daughter-in-law, otherwise there would be a conflict of interest,” he said. When it comes to his own wellbeing he said he did not usually take medication for any ailment. Once in away he takes a paracetamol. But mostly, he uses herbs and herbal medicine. He would boil a mixture of garlic, uluhaal (fenugreek seeds) and pepper together in a pot of water and drink it for any stomach ache. Source:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/120527/News/nws_26.html

DWLC conducts probe into army shooting on jumbos

The Department of Wildlife and Conservation (DWLC) has launched an investigation why the army shot two wild elephants in Bundala yesterday.
According to environmentalists one jumbo was shot in the head and the other sustain similar gun shot injuries.
Meanwhile, DWLC Veterinary surgeon Dr Vijitha Perera had rushed to the scene to treat the injured animals. It was found one elephant had killed a girl in a village of Bundala and also injured her father two days ago.

Source:http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/05/27/oostory.asp?sid=20120224_01&imid=shoot.jpg&dt=[February%2024%202012]

Birds detected at BIA raises Interpol concern

Exotic species brought into country illegally to be sold at exorbitant amounts Questions over co-ordination of various agencies involved in implementing Animal Diseases Act

The recent detection at the BIA of an attempt to smuggle several exotic varieties of birds into the country has triggered interest of the Interpol that is probing whether this was part of a global live animal trafficking trade. Interpol’s Environmental Crime Committee in a letter to the Criminal investigation Department (CID) has requested any intelligence that the CID may have gathered from investigations into the illicit trafficking of birds, the Sunday Times learns. The recent detection was of a consignment of 121 live birds brought down by a regular importer who had documents to support the import of only ten birds as per the permits issued by the Department of Wild Life Conservation (DWC). These permits are given only after a quarantine report is obtained from the importer as required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The market value of the birds was around Rs. 13.6 million but the declared value was just US $ 1130 (around Rs. 120,000). The man was fined Rs 450,000 and the birds were handed over to the National Zoological Gardens where they will go on display in about a month’s time. The ten birds for which the man had proper documentation were handed over to him. While most of the birds were varieties of parrots, what was disturbing was that among them were several small exotic varieties of duck and a pair of swans which are high-risk carries of Avian flu (bird flu). Customs Bio-Diversity unit Director General Samantha Gunasekera who led the detection having kept tabs on the importer for more than a year and having been tipped off by an informant said this was perhaps one of the few cases that was detected while in other instances live animal and bird cargo are smuggled into the country for ornamental purposes to be sold at exorbitant rates. Another shocking revelation was the amount people are willing to pay to buy different types of macaw and cockatoos to keep as pets. The blue and gold Macaw, indigenous to South America is sold at around Rs.1. 2 million while prices of other exotic birds range between Rs. 100,000 and Rs. One million. (See graphic for prices of imported birds sold in Sri Lanka). “The bird consignments come from Bangkok but the birds originate from South America, Australia or New Zealand,” Mr.Gunasekera said. While the Customs Department makes the detections, the quarantine office run by officials of the Department of Animal Production and Health (DAPH) are entrusted with checking live cargo. “The importer has to inform the Department when the consignment is due and our officials check them when they arrive to give clearance. If there is some suspicion we keep the animals or birds at a quarantine centre outside the airport and release them later,” a spokesman for the Department Dr. Susil Silva said. However, the Sunday Times learns that the DAPH has come under criticism particularly that the live cargo is not examined properly and that regular importers are allowed to leave with the goods without proper scrutiny. When questioned Dr.Silva said the Department works with the resources available and that so far the Department has ensured that no diseases are brought into the country. “We have to implement the Animal Diseases Act and that is what our officials do,” he said. The Sunday Times found out that with varying government agencies involved in enforcing laws pertaining to this area, there seemed a lack of co-ordination. For example the Department of Wild Life Conservation (DWC) which issues permits and is entrusted with carrying out raids now functions under the Ministry of Agrarian Services and Wild Life whereas it was earlier under the Ministry of Environment which formulates policy on environment related matters. The co-ordination between the DAPH and the Customs too seemed inadequate. Environment activist and lawyer Jagath Gunawardena said although the Flora and Fauna Ordinance provides adequate laws to deal with the import and export of live and endangered species of both animal and plant what was lacking was its implementation as well as trained officers. “The law has been amended to meet present day situations but it has to be better implemented and we need more trained personnel so that we can close the loopholes that exist,” he said. Meanwhile, Samantha Gunasekera of the Customs said that other than the import of live animals, the unchecked import of various types of plants and fish too has proved to be hazardous to local bio diversity. “I warned many years ago that the import of piranhas and knife fish was detrimental to the survival of fish species. Their import was banned much later but now these fish are found in our waterways,” he said. He added that similarly other types of animal imports could cause much harm. “The Customs sometime back detected a pair of ferrets that had been imported as pets but these creatures are a highly invasive species and if released into the wild could wreak havoc by killing off many of the smaller animals found here,” he said. One of the 121 consignment of birds that were detected at the airport. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera “We need to educate the public as well as have better trained people to ensure that both local bio diversity is protected and there is no trafficking of endangered species,” he added. Permits before pets The Department of Animal Production and Health has reiterated that those who want to bring their pets (cats, dogs, birds etc.) into the country need to obtain an import permit from the Department prior to their arrival in Sri Lanka. An official said despite many public notices to this effect, many airline passengers still continue to bring pets without a valid permit and this has caused inconvenience to the quarantine officers who are forced to send them back to the countries from where they were flown in. He said, sometimes the pets are not accepted by the respective countries and are sent back to Sri Lanka, causing further inconvenience to officials and the owners. Locals target endemic birds as pets A bird-import racket was busted by the Customs last week, but another covert and illicit bird trade is being conducted within the country. The operatives catch birds in remote areas, sometimes deep in the jungles, and supply these to pet shops. The law allows only exotic birds to be kept as pets, but these pet shop owners deal in any indigenous birds. Parrots, munias, the black-headed oriole, grackles and even sparrows are among the birds being traded. The grackle, or Hill Myna, known locally as Salalihiniya, is especially vulnerable. The bird is in big demand because it comes under the business category of “birds that can talk.” The racket came to light last year when a Galle resident was caught in the act of delivering grackles caught in the wild to a pet shop in Mount Lavinia. Acting on a tip-off that birds were being transported to Colombo, Madura de Silva and Nadeeka Hapurarachchie of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Galle, accompanied by members of the Flying Squad of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, lay in wait near the Mt. Lavinia pet shop in question. The grackle, or Hill Myna A three-wheeler drew up in front of the pet shop, and a man stepped out. He was caught in the act of handing over a plastic crate containing grackles to the pet shop owner. The man told the Flying Squad the grackles were caught in the jungles of Gampola. He said he had also supplied other bird species, including the Layard’s Parakeet, a bird endemic to Sri Lanka. It is understood that the illicit bird business has been going on for quite some time. The bird supplier and the pet shop owner were both fined. Madura de Silva told the Sunday Times that there seems to be a growing demand for endemic local birds. Some of these birds have permanent nesting sites, and repeatedly visit the same tree and tree hole to lay their eggs. This makes them easy prey to bird catchers. It is quite common for villagers to keep birds, such as the mynah and the rose-ringed parakeet, as pets. Usually, these are birds that have been found abandoned or lost as fledglings, and out of compassion the villagers adopt the birds and take care of them. It is a different situation in the towns and city, where illegal bird trading is a lucrative business. While these birds may not be threatened species, they could be in danger if they became heavily targeted species, warned Madura de Silva. All indigenous and migratory birds, except five bird species, are protected under the Fauna and Flora Ordinance of Sri Lanka. The five unprotected species are the Large-billed Crow, the House Crow, the Rose-ringed Parakeet, the Scaly-breasted Munia and the white-backed Munia. The Rose-ringed Parakeet and two species of Munia are often available for sale in pet shops. It is illegal to keep even unprotected bird species without a licence, says environment lawyer Jagath Gunawardane. He believes there are a few organised groups engaged in the illicit bird trade, but the “situation is not out of control.” He recommended a proper investigation to review the situation. Source:http://sundaytimes.lk/120219/News/nws_13.html

Where every plant in the land gets a birth certificate

In addition to its serene beauty that draws hordes of visitors, there are many things that the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens can be proud of, one of which is the National Herbarium where vital work related to the floral wealth of this country is carried out, reports Kumudini Hettiarachchi

For most, it is just a walk through the gardens, sometimes enjoying the misty splendour or at other times the sunbathed glory of the well-laid out land by the quietly flowing Mahaweli. Relaxing under the canopy of a large tree, walking along the hallmark avenue of royal palms or looking in wonder at the bright and beautiful flowers, how many realize that the Royal Botanic Gardens at Peradeniya has the highest diversity among gardens in the region. The National Herbarium houses a collection of 148,000 dried specimens from all over the country. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara While providing a serene and tranquil environment, proven by the fact that 1.4 million are lured by its beauty, Peradeniya plays many roles - a major one being the ex-situ conservation of plants. This is the conservation and maintenance of living organisms, in this case plants, outside their natural habitats. There are 4,500 different species of plants including trees, shrubs, bushes et al, the Sunday Times learns. With the air in Kandy said to be more polluted than Colombo, this Botanic Gardens is reported to have the best air in the area. Behind the manicured and tended areas is also taking place important work connected to the flora of Sri Lanka. Deep within the Peradeniya Gardens in a charming building fitted with wooden almirahs, glass-showcases and numerous shelves, meticulously preserved are specimens of each and every plant or tree in the country. It is the National Herbarium with a massive collection of 148,000 dried specimens reported from all over the country, even the remotest corner, the Sunday Times understands. With the specimens come detailed information on where and when the plant was collected, its habitat, colour and the name of the collector. Explaining that some of the specimens at this national bio-repository are nearly 200 years old, the Director-General of the Department of National Botanic Gardens, Dr. Siril Wijesundera said the National Herbarium represents a valuable floral catalogue. This is where the "birth certificates" of plants are, he says, adding that the National Herbarium is also involved in plant exploration, identification, specimen preparation and documentation and revision of the floral wealth of the country. Here is the Wintergreen plant taken way back in 1855 at Horton Plains, says Dr. Wijesundera walking us through the National Herbarium, pointing out that when the leaves of the plant are crushed the wintogeno odour comes out strongly. Colour-coded with red being for "native" plants, green for cultivated plants and brown for exotics or aliens, if the plant is not at the Herbarium either it is new to Sri Lanka or new to science as in not being named, he says. As such a Herbarium is vital to study plant taxonomy (coming from the Greek taxis or "arrangement" it means the practice and science of classification), the geographic distribution of plants and also their nomenclature. Flowers, stems, leaves, seed and fruit are preserved alongside a specimen, according to Dr. Wijesundera. Dr. Siril Wijesundera shows some of the specimens The staff at the National Herbarium is also involved ‘Red Listing’ plants in the country in collaboration with the Biodiversity Secretariat of the Environment Ministry. Plants are categorized as 'extinct', 'critically endangered', 'endangered', 'vulnerable', 'near-threatened', 'least concerned' and 'data deficient'. Close to the National Herbarium is another building, now refurbished and equipped for batches of people to pore over microscopes, mix different chemicals in petri dishes for experiments involving plants or listen to both local and foreign experts. In this building now turned into an education centre, Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in South Asia made his office in the hill country, as well as an ammunition dump during World War II in the early 1940s. The other achievement that the Botanic Gardens is proud of is the National Floriculture Development Programme, 'Suvahas Mal' under which 85 farmer organizations have been empowered in different spheres such as infrastructure, plant material and knowledge to cultivate both flowering and ornamental plants. The farmer organizations are in the Central, North Central, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and Southern Provinces, according to the Director General and at the Botanic Gardens the nucleus where the growers have been trained is the model farm with green houses where rows and rows of orchids, anthuriums and other flowers are nurtured. Proving his initial point that it is not just a malwatte, Dr. Wijesundera's vision is to make the Peradeniya Royal Botanic Garden "the best in the tropics" by 2015 by maintaining that special quality that emanates from here……..the aura of tranquillity and serenity, along with its pristine majesty. History of our gardens The history of the Peradeniya Gardens goes back into the dim mists of time when in 1371 King Wickramabahu III first used it as a royal pleasure garden, followed by King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe declaring it as a 'Royal Garden’ in 1780. By 1799, close to Colombo in Peliyagoda, the then British Governor Frederick North established a botanic garden in 1799, with the services of Frenchman Eudelin de Jonville. 'Kew Gardens' with Joseph Banks taking a hand came into being in 1810 in Slave Island, Colombo, with the first Superintendent William Kerr being appointed in 1812. However, relocation at Ukgalboda on the banks of the Kalu Ganga at Kalutara followed in 1814 and Alexander Moon took up the mantle in 1817. Peradeniya became the home of these gardens in 1821. Source:http://sundaytimes.lk/110508/Plus/plus_09.html

Killer croc at Muthurajawela marsh strikes

People are not aware that attacks are usually premeditated, says expert

The routine of humble Sebastian Angelo Uday Kumara, 36, may probably have rung the death knell for him that fateful Friday at Ragama, just a stone’s throw from the busy town and hospital.

For, as Kumara went about his usual work of getting into the ‘Meda’ marsh knee-deep to cut the grass and bundle it up and then walk a little distance to wash off the mud, the predator lurking in the murky waters may very well have eyed him on several days and waited grabbing him as dusk fell on January 27.

Above: The wife and two children of the victim whose picture is at right

When the Sunday Times visited the area, a knot of men and women gathered to express fear over a possible crocodile attack. Yes, said a woman, with the others nodding in agreement, a crocodile has been sighted in the area, with dogs and goats going missing.

“Kimbulek avva thapinawa dekala thiyenawa,” said 16-year-old Roshan Vimukthi who used to play cricket on the pitiya with his friends, explaining that he had seen a crocodile sunning itself with its jaws wide open. It was about 15 feet long.

S. Piyumi, living on the embankment opposite the pool where parts of Kumara’s body had been found, says that when her dogs barked furiously she heard a splash and saw the last bit of a croc’s tail vanish into the depths of the water hedged in by habarala.

A person points to the spot where the victim entered the marsh. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara

Fearful for their children, especially if there is heavy rain and the houses get flooded as they are prone to, the people called for immediate action to prevent crocs from roaming this urban area. A week after Kumara went missing and parts of his body were found at the marsh, his wife Anne Sunethra Dilshani, 10-year-old son Chanaka and eight-year-old daughter Niroshini are struggling to come to grips with the thought that the husband/ father is no more. With the breadwinner gone, the family will be dependent on the kindness of relatives, mainly Kumara’s brothers and sister.

“They have vowed to look after my children,” sobs Anne, as the tiny home in ‘Meegaha-watte’ down Weli Para, Peliyagoda, is coming back to normal. The funeral having been held on February 1, the small shed erected on the road to accommodate the crowds is about to be dismantled and the plastic chairs stacked in corners. Inside their home on a low teapoy is the photo of Kumara with a flame flickering close-by. A cup of tea with milk added has been kept as an offering.

“He didn’t come home that night or early the next morning,” says Anne. The search began the next day, with the men of the watte being mobilised by Kumara’s brother, Sebastian Joseph. Retracing Kumara’s movements, they came to the Ragama marsh and found the three-wheeler as well as the bundles of grass close by.
“His good clothes were in the three-wheeler and a few coins were scattered inside as well,” says Joseph re-living the trauma, pointing out that of the two sickles Kumara usually took with him to cut grass, only one was found in the three-wheeler.
The banian which he wears when cutting the grass was found some distance away, soaking wet but on dry land, close to a murky pool, on the bank of which the three-wheeler ignition key was also found, according to him.
After the watte tharunayo cleared the mucky edges of the pool, the Navy swimmers found his brother’s leg in the water. His shorts, with pahuru gapu (scrape) marks were also found in the water, says Joseph.
The head and the upper torso had been found only last Tuesday, theSunday Times learns.
Kumara had left his wallet along with his driving licence and his identity card at home, murmurs Anne wondering whether he had a premonition of what would befall him.
Three-wheeler driver Suranga Ranjith Silva who has followed the crocodile saga from day one has told officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) that he is willing to catch the creature.
We can lure it with a godura (bait) and then trap it with a noose. We will not harm it, he says.
However, according to him, officials from the DWC office at Muthurajawela have told the people in the area to inform them if they spot a crocodile.
“Will the crocodile await their coming,” grumbles a resident, with others agreeing that it is not the solution.

Open verdict as full body not found yet Ragama Coroner M. Priyankara Lal who held the inquest into Kumara’s death has returned an open verdict, fixing the next hearing for February 24. The post-mortem examination conducted by Consultant Judicial Medical Officer, Dr. Indira Kitulwatte, had found that the injuries on the recovered parts of the body were consistent with kimbulek sapa kema, explained the Coroner, adding that because the whole body had not been found he gave an open verdict. Time has been given so that the missing leg and lower torso including the stomach may be recovered, it is learnt. Warning boards necessary Boards warning of croc attacks should be put up immediately in the area, stressed Anslem de Silva, Vice Chairman, Crocodile Specialist Group IUCN/SSC for South Asia and Iran, advising that people who live or work in croc habitats must not engage in a regimented routine. Do not repeat the same action, at the same location, at the same time, he urges. Among the eight killer-crocodiles in the world are both the Saltwater and Mugger crocs which are found in Sri Lanka. The Saltwater crocodile along with the Nile croc (found in Egypt) tops the list, the Sunday Times learns. Pointing out that many attacks are due to the ignorance of humans, Mr. de Silva said people who go into crocodile habitat are not aware of both the attitude and activities of these creatures. Croc attacks are usually premeditated, says this expert who has investigated more than 150 such incidents across the country, adding that they “watch and wait.’ ‘Mr. Saltwater Croc’ found in the Ragama area may have been watching Kumara, bent or squatting washing himself before pouncing, he says. Once the croc’s teeth get gridlocked on human flesh, it is one of the biggest forces. The croc will then drag its victim under water, drown him, tear the body into pieces and hide them amidst the underwater root systems, for it prefers the putrefied remains. Commending moves by the DWC under the guidance of Wildlife Minister S.M. Chandrasena to set up massive enclosures of 1-2 acres for both species of crocodiles at Muthurajawela, Mr. de Silva adds that then ‘croc trouble-makers’ from all over the country could be trapped and released there, to reduce the human-crocodile conflict. Source:http://sundaytimes.lk/120205/News/nws_14.html

When croc and man lived a ‘charmed’ life

Our very own crocodile dundee, Anslem de Silva brings world focus on traditional methods used by our ancestors, to co-exist with this much-maligned reptile.

Four-legged or no legged, big or small, ambling or slithering, whatever forms the natural dangers took, our ancestors seemed to have known how to deal with them. Not only did they deal with them effectively, be it elephant, snake or crocodile, they also passed down their knowledge, sometimes ingrained in stone to posterity. Mr. de Silva rescued this five-foot Mugger from a fishing net in Jaffna and released it Setting his sights on the much-reviled and maligned crocodile, which are among the few survivors of the dinosaur age, Sri Lanka’s very own ‘Dundee’ has trudged along the banks of rivers on a journey down the misty corridors of time in search of the secrets of our forefathers and the more modern techniques through which the rural folk co-exist with this reptile. After his arduous search across the country, Anslem de Silva, well-known for his work on creatures slimy and slithery, has brought the strange but amazing “traditional methods” that Sri Lankans deploy in the prevention of crocodile attacks to world-focus. This is through a well-researched piece in the latest Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter out on April 26. No stranger to crocodiles, Mr. de Silva had observed these creatures (which interestingly have changed little for many million years since the dinosaurs) while still a boy in his hometown of Matara. During this study, he has not only had long chats with village elders, traditional snake-bite physicians, astrologers and boatmen but also traced families affected by crocodile attacks after meticulously clipping and filing news items of such incidents as well as spreading the word that he would like to be told about such incidents. Two species, the Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) and the Saltwater (C. porosus) crocodiles glide in and out of a variety of habitats such as rivers, streams and wewas (man-made tanks), coming into contact with people who also use these water bodies for drinking, bathing, washing clothes and to earn a living through fishing and harvesting aquatic or semi-aquatic edible and non-edible plants, Mr. de Silva says. Pointing out that both the Mugger and the Saltwater crocodiles are known to attack humans, livestock and pets such as dogs, he explains that people have resorted to various forms of prevention handed down from their ancestors which include both physical and spiritual. Titled ‘Prevention of crocodile attacks in Sri Lanka: Some traditional methods’, Mr. de Silva has put the spotlight on them through the newsletter published in Australia but distributed worldwide by the Crocodile Specialist Group of the IUCN – Species Survival Commission. Delving into spiritual practices including inscribed charms and talismans and protective mantras, this ‘crocodile hunter’ of a different kind has unearthed a granite stone artifact, irregularly hexagonal, around 46 cm in length, width and height, with an intricate talisman engraved on the upper surface, with the charm inscribed on the other four sides. Although now at the Dutugemunu Temple of the Sandarawela Rathnasara Pirivena, in Ganegama, Baddegama, down south, the stone dating from circa 1469-1474 AD had originally been found in the Gin Ganga at Baddegama, Mr. de Silva’s research, funded by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, has revealed. Saltwater baby croc hiding in mangrove vegetation On his forays into the wild as well as to more inhabited areas where men, women and children come face-to-face with crocodiles, his path had been made smoother by the research already in place of former Professor of History and Archaeology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Mendis Rohanadeera and the assistance rendered by former Director (General Services) of the Archaeology Department, M.B. Herath. The charm written in stone starts with salutations to Lord Buddha and various deities and then invokes protection for all humans from male and female crocodiles, says Mr. de Silva, pointing out that it ends with the disclosure that “...this is the crocodile charm that tied the crocodiles and she crocodiles”. Incidentally, Rohanadeera’s research has suggested that the charm and talisman are the work of scholar-monk Ven. Thotagamuwe Rahula of the 15th Century who gets a mention in history textbooks in schools. Mr. de Silva has also been told of charmed stones in the Nilwala Ganga, at the main bathing spot in Matara town and at Nadulgala, and in a river at Tissamaharama, but laments that they have not been discovered yet. From granite stones to mantras, he has uncovered two short ones of four to 10 words recorded in 1954 by Gnanaloka which people were supposed to recite before entering waters inhabited by crocodiles. “Om Sumas Shri Devane Muka Bandrama,” was an incantation to god Sumas to tie the mouth of the crocodile not to bite, the Sunday Times understands. Widely known but now extinct in the country, Mr. de Silva recalls just one instance where a police officer of the Mankulam Police Station spoke of a diver from his village of Manampitiya who used charms to protect himself before seeking the bodies of crocodile victims in the Pali Aru and Kidapuchchan kulam. Looking worldwide, he cites Borneo where crocodile charmers are still popular and our very own ‘shark charmers’ of yore who protected divers harvesting oysters during the British era. With dengue on the rise and mosquito repellents both local and foreign being sold over the counter, it comes as no surprise that herbal pills had been used in Sri Lanka to repel even bigger creatures. Bhagawath Jeewara Guliya was the answer for crocodiles, it is learnt, containing plants, seeds and other ingredients but also being prepared under specific conditions and rites governed by auspicious times. There is a strong belief that crocodile attacks could be kept at bay if the pill mixed with the juice of the kotakimbula plant (Ficus hispida) is put into a river or tank infested with crocodiles, Mr. de Silva’s research has found. The toxic effects of various plants such as the unripe fruit of kukuruman (Randia dumetorum) are used by villagers to catch fish, although this practice is prohibited by law, he states, explaining that in Kalkudah people make a paste of unripe kukuruman to poison fish. Have you heard of kimbul kotu, asks this crocodile expert, who along with his team studied 70 of these crocodile exclusion enclosures, both abandoned and in use, along the Nilwala Ganga from Modara to Paraduwa in Matara. Interesting details emerge of these “physical barriers” against crocs. They could be small enclosures (about 3X3m) erected by individual families for bathing and washing clothes and utensils or large enclosures by a pradeshiya sabha or urban council for communal use. A large enclosure opposite Matara town used by many people for several decades had been washed away by the 2004 tsunami but not re-erected, says Mr. de Silva who as a boy had bathed there in the mid-1950s. Traditional enclosures are constructed of thick kitul palm (Caryota urens) planks or long hardwood poles driven firmly into the riverbed, the two ends of the enclosure abutting the banks while those with metal rods and wire have come in more recent times. Traditional and metal enclosures have fencing only on three sides, it is learnt. Communal crocodile exclusion enclosure All crocodile attacks that occurred during the research period involved people bathing, washing clothes or fishing outside an enclosure or in areas sans one, stressed Mr. de Silva. Meanwhile, he says that sometimes, crocodiles stray into domestic compounds at night, to prey on pets or poultry and this has led to the construction of metal exclusion fences. People’s negligence led to attacks Let them live, is conservationist and current Vice Chairman of the Crocodile Specialist Group, IUCN for South Asia and Iran, Anslem de Silva’s plea to Sri Lankans, not only because he has found that almost all crocodile attacks were due to the negligence of people but also as these reptiles are of vital importance for the ecosystem and thus to the survival of humans. “They are a relic from the past and should be safeguarded. Crocodiles in fact saw the extinction of the dinosaurs.” The victims were aware of the presence of crocs in the water where they were attacked in 90% of the 131 cases examined (interviewed) by Mr. de Silva during his human-crocodile conflict study. “People from the wet zone hill country, who recently settled in the dry zone under the Accelerated Mahaweli Project were initially ignorant of crocodile habits and as such vulnerable, with dry zone tanks being the main Mugger habitats,” he says. The crocodile charm Based on the accounts of attack victims and witnesses, the Sunday Times understands that the crocodiles had observed people engaged in water-based activities over a period of time before attacking them. “This would imply that some attacks were not the result of a casual encounter with potential prey, but reflected direct hunting,” stresses Mr. de Silva. Words of wisdom and guidance on how the authorities, the government and the local authorities, could protect people from the jaws of crocodiles come from this expert: Make vulnerable populations aware of the dangers posed by crocodiles Instal and maintain physical protective structures such as crocodile exclusion enclosures and fences leaving adequate space along the bank for the crocodiles to roam at night Put up large warning signs in danger areas When resettling people in areas where there are crocodiles the community should be advised on the safety measures that need to be taken The role of NGOs should not be ignored as recently the World Wildlife Fund/American Red Cross Partnership installed a few ‘crocodile-fences’ along the Nilwala Ganga in Matara (on Mr. de Silva’s recommendations) Herbal and chemical crocodile repellents should be investigated, taking into consideration the adverse or toxic effects which could endanger other aquatic fauna, flora or render the water unfit for human use Source:http://sundaytimes.lk/110508/Plus/plus_01.html

Killing of Ragama croc frowned on by environmentalists

Two victims, a human and a crocodile, in a tragedy played out at Ragama. Sebastian Angelo Uday Kumara, 36, who went missing on January 26, is believed to have been killed by a crocodile at the Meda marsh in Ragama town while the alleged killer-croc captured by people of the area last week, breathed its last in agony on Wednesday night.

The 15-foot crocodile was trussed up and dragged here and there by residents who captured it. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara

The crocodile had been captured by using a chicken, with a large hook hidden inside the creature, as bait. With hundreds of people milling around to get a glimpse, the massive Saltwater crocodile, over 15-feet in length, which had swallowed the chicken, hook and all had been trussed up tightly, dragged here and there and hammered on the head with an axe and seemed to be in terrible agony, when the Sunday Times went to the area.

This tragedy highlights the need to mitigate the human-crocodile conflict (HEC) as humans invade the territory of this endangered species in Sri Lanka, environmentalists stressed, with Anslem de Silva, Vice Chairman, Crocodile Specialist Group IUCN/SSC for South Asia and Iran, urging local government authorities to put up warning boards in areas where crocodiles are spotted, so that people are aware of the danger.

The Ragama crocodile had swallowed the hook-embedded bait two or three days before Wednesday, the Sunday Times learns. Transported carefully to the National Zoological Gardens at Dehiwela by officials of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) under the instructions of DWC’s Dr. Tharaka Prasad, a team of Zoo veterinary surgeons, along with Dr. D.S. Kodikara called in for the purpose was awaiting the animal on Wednesday night to operate on it immediately to remove the hook. However, the crocodile died a few minutes after being brought in, it is learnt.

The four-inch hook bent in the shape of an anchor had severely injured the oesophagus and surrounding tissue of the crocodile, said Zoo Veterinary Surgeon, Dr. Jagath Jayasekara when contacted by the Sunday Times, explaining that the necrosis around the area indicated that the hook had been swallowed two or three days earlier.

There could be two possibilities, the Sunday Times understands. The animal may have swallowed the bait earlier and hidden in agony and then pulled out by people when it weakened on Wednesday, or people may have found it as soon as it swallowed the hook and harassed it without informing officials until Wednesday.

The injury from a sharp weapon on the head had been inflicted around Tuesday evening, said Dr. Jayasekara, pointing out that it had fractured the skull and caused trauma to the brain.
The stomach contents, the post-mortem had found, included bones which the Zoo vets suspect are human and also tortoises, cattle hooves, bones of small carnivores such as cats and dogs, nails of fishing cats and lots of polythene, he said, adding that on the request of the Ragama Coroner M. Priyankara Lal, the bones suspected to be human have been sent to the Department of Forensic Medicine, Ragama Medical Faculty for examination. This is most probably to establish whether the bones are those of Kumara.

“It is against the law to harass or kill a protected animal such as this crocodile,” explained Dr. Jayasekara, while other environmentalists said that people should be discouraged from taking the law into their own hands without calling in the relevant officials, even in the face of a human killing.

While Zoo Director Bhashwara Senanka Gunarathna has instructed that the crocodile should be kept as an exhibit at their museum, the Ragama Coroner Mr. Lal who had returned an open verdict on the death of Kumara is due to take up the hearing on February 24.

A boy of about 12 who heard and saw the photos of the crocodile in agony summed up the tragedy well when he said, “We go into their (crocs’) home and when they do what is instinctive to them (predation), we kill them.”

The hook that had been used inside the chicken that was used as a bait

Scheme to separate man and croc
Referring to the two types of crocodiles found in Sri Lanka, Mr. Anslem de Silva said the Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) and the Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) play an important role in the eco-system.
Crocodiles are apex predators (adult crocodiles have no natural predators in the eco-system) and also a keystone species, surviving from the time of the dinosaurs.

These factors point to the need to protect crocodiles, Mr. de Silva said, referring to an e-mail sent to him by Dr. Brandon Sideleau, a world authority on croc attacks which states, "……it's sad the crocodile died. I am assuming there are not many of that size in the area".

A survey of Mr. de Silva has found that over about 15 years more than 130 people have been attacked with 35 deaths. More than 50 crocodiles have also been killed.

Source:http://sundaytimes.lk/120212/News/nws_21.html