Red-eared terrapin: Evasive and Invasive
http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2018/10/07/red-eared-terrapin-evasive-and-invasive

Environmentalists argue immediate action is necessary to control an exotic pet turtle, the red-eared slider before it causes hefty ecological costs on the country.

19m Lankans face financial hit from climate change by 2050
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181007/news/19m-lankans-face-financial-hit-from-climate-change-by-2050-314779.html

Living standards in the Northern and North-Western provinces will be badly affected by changing climate and the economic engine of the Western Province will also falter, according to a World Bank study that links GDP to the impact of climate change.

Move to declare open season on wild boar despite warnings
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181007/news/move-to-declare-open-season-on-wild-boar-despite-warnings-314728.html

The Agriculture Ministry will seek Cabinet approval to lift the ban on the transport and sale of wild boar meat in the face of opposition from wildlife activists, citing the need to prevent the protected animal’s raids on cropland.

Leopard killed by a snares set for a wild boar – sept 26 Nawalapitiya (c) DWC ape pituwa

Bundala fish are dying due to waste from salterns, say fishermen
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181007/news/bundala-fish-are-dying-due-to-waste-from-salterns-say-fishermen-314744.html

A large number of birds that inhabit the park and migratory birds are also under threat as their source of food, fish in the lagoon are dying due to the pollution.

Sri Lanka President emphasizes safeguarding the environment
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_18B/Oct05_1538758565CH.php

Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena said safeguarding environment is vital for the survival of all creatures including humans and that is why he had not taken many high positions entrenched with money and power and selected the Ministry of Environment to ensure the right to life of all the creatures including the human beings.

PM of Sri Lanka and Norway issue joint statement on marine life conservation
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/10/06/pm-of-sri-lanka-and-norway-issue-joint-statement-on-marine-life-conservation/

The statement states Norway and Sri Lanka share a similar conviction on prioritizing the conservation of the fragile marine environment.

Public servants liable for environmental damage in respective districts – President
http://www.adaderana.lk/news/50506/public-servants-liable-for-environmental-damage-in-respective-districts-president

The President said that all the public servants in a respective district will be liable for the environmental damage occur in that particular district and further requested to inform him if there is any political influence when enforcing the laws against environmental damage.

Female elephant electrocuted in Puwakpitiya
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/10/02/female-elephant-electrocuted-in-puwakpitiya/
A female elephant died after coming in to contact with an unprotected electricity cable in Puwakpitiya, Habarana last afternoon (October 01)

Train In Sri Lanka Kills Three Elephant Calves
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/train-in-sri-lanka-kills-three-elephant-calves-1928075

A passenger train hit and killed three young elephants in eastern Sri Lanka weeks after two calves and their pregnant mother were fatally struck in the same region.

Father of three dies in elephant attack
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2018/10/03/father-of-three-dies-in-elephant-attack/

A 48-year-old father of three, died in Indigahawewa following an elephant attack.

Villagers bring relief to suffering jumbo
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181007/news/villagers-bring-relief-to-suffering-jumbo-314826.html
A team of veterinary surgeons have started treating the injured foot of this elephant at the Hondawel Pokuna Wewa area in Hambantota.

Fifteen (15) persons apprehended for engaging in illegal activities
http://news.navy.lk/eventnews/2018/10/01/201810011710/

When garbage is music to the ears
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181007/plus/when-garbage-is-music-to-the-ears-314399.html

Standing out in Brad’s filmography is the unusual film Landfill Harmonic. It is the story of the recycled orchestra of Cateura, a small community outside the capital city of Asunción, Paraguay. The instruments they play are entirely made from garbage. It is the kind of story that filmmakers crave, but takes a rare eye to hunt down. “Both entertaining and educational”, it looks at the power of music as a tool for transformation, as well as the message of believing in yourself, not giving up your dreams, and making the most out of what you have in life.

Living standards in the Northern and North-Western provinces will be badly affected by changing climate and the economic engine of the Western Province will also falter, according to a World Bank study that links GDP to the impact of climate change. Published on SundayTimes on 07.10.2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181007/news/19m-lankans-face-financial-hit-from-climate-change-by-2050-314779.html

Going in search of water: Women are more affected, but female-headed households are more resilient to impacts

The Jaffna and Puttalam districts will be the top hotspots – areas where changes in average weather will adversely affect living standards – while the second most populous district in the country, Gampaha, is among the top 10 most vulnerable districts.

Gampaha has been heavily affected by recent droughts, and the World Bank report points out that western Sri Lanka, along with south-eastern India, northern Pakistan and eastern Nepal, have experienced “unambiguous” temperature rises of 1C to 1.5C (1.8F to 2.7F) from 1950-2010.

The report, South Asia’s Hotspots: The Impact of Temperature and Precipitation Changes on Living Standards, combines average temperature and rainfall information with household survey data to recognise looming changes to the human condition.

Such changes inevitably affect the national economy. “In Sri Lanka, living standards could go down by around 5 percent, and in the worst-case scenario may decline by around 7 percent,” said Professor Muthukumara Mani, a leading economist in the World Bank South Asia Region and author of the report.
“Under the worst-case scenario, GDP will decline by 7.7 percent, an estimated loss of $US50 billion.”

According to the report, about 19 million people in Sri Lanka today live in locations that could become moderate or severe hotspots by 2050 under the carbon-intensive scenario. This is equivalent to more than 90 percent of the country’s population.

Stress was laid on the importance of coping with the changes of average temperature as much as the increase of severe weather events. “Global warming is proven, and the climate change is the ultimate threat multiplier. We are not doing enough, heading toward a 3C increase by 2100, and the poor will suffer most,” said Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, former vice chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“We also tend to forget long-term effects as more focus is on the short term. In case of extreme events, we at least know kind of action that can be taken such as relocation, evacuation etc. and can have a robust mechanism to deal with natural disasters. But we don’t know much about gradual changes in temperature and how to face them,” Prof. Munasinghe said.

“Even a change of one week or two weeks of monsoon can have an impact on farmers. We still do not know what to do with the gradual changes.”
On current trends, humans would need the resources of two planets to satisfy our needs by 2030, Prof. Munasinghe said, stressing the need to take a sustainable path.

People employed in agriculture will bear the brunt of climate-change-caused hardship and many will face extreme poverty, the report states.
They have already begun moving toward other day jobs as they cannot rely totally on agriculture, according to figures shown at the study’s launch ceremony.

While less developed and agriculture-based households are more prone to livelihood upset, hardship will not be limited to rural areas: in Pakistan, the most vulnerable exist in urban areas. The report also states that female-run households are more resilient.

Dr. Herath Manthrithilake, head of the International Water Management Institute (IMWI)’s country programme, said the highlight of the study is its linking of weather changes to the effects on GDP, which allows policymakers to easily understand the consequences of climate change.

Dr. Manthrithilake said water will be an important resource and we would not be able to look as lightly on water management as we did in the last century. “We need to think about all the water resources and how to use them constructively — how we can combine usage. At the moment, once we use water for agriculture, we discard it. We need to find out how waste water can be reused,” he said.

Kusum Athukorala of Netwater Partnership pointed out that women are foot soldiers of climate change adaptation. “Often, women looking for water in parched land has been the tell-tale picture of drought. So they are more affected, but female-headed households are more resilient to impacts,” Ms. Athukorala said.

Given that five of the top 10 vulnerable districts of Sri Lanka are in Northern Province – with Jaffna, Mannar and Kilinochchi the worst affected – it is important that changes in average temperature and precipitation be considered for planning and development activities in that province.

The urbanised west of the country will not escape a financial hit from climate change. The report states: “The highly-urbanised and densely-populated Western Province, which includes Colombo, is also predicted to experience a living standards decline of 7.5 percent by 2050, compared with a situation without changes in average weather. This is a substantial drop, with potentially large implications for the country, given that the province contributes more than 40 per cent of Sri Lanka’s GDP.”

The report states that as more people move from agricultural areas to urban areas to cope better with the economic effects of climate change these shifts will in turn create new climate impacts, particularly with risks to health.

The World Bank report suggests ways in which Sri Lanka could limit the problems caused by climate change. Increasing the share of the non-agricultural sector by a third could limit the deterioration in living standards from -7 percent to 0.1 percent. Reducing travel time to markets and increasing average educational levels would also help the country.

Link to the World Bank Report https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/28723/9781464811555.pdf

A wild boar caght in a snare in Nuwara Eliya

“Apparently natural predators of wild boar such as leopards and jackals have decreased, so we feel there is an increase in boars, which are being found in small forest patches even in Kandy and Colombo,” Mr. Wanninayake said.

He added that the ministry had carried out a random and rapid survey and reached the conclusion that crop damage by wild boar had increased.
The wild boar consumes ground vegetation, soil-dwelling creatures and carrion, also often raiding crops if their habitat is close to crop fields. Feeding in small groups, wild boar are active at night.

At present, a farmer can kill a wild boar if it trespasses onto his property but the meat cannot be transported or sold. “Last year, 15,000 guns were issued to farmers along with two lakhs of bullets with the main aim of protecting their crops, but only a handful of bullets had been used,” Mr. Wanninayake said.

Wild boar are, however, already being killed in large numbers and sold under cover as there is demand for the flesh. The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) warns that the legalisation and thereby liberalisation of the sale and trade of wild boar meat will result in unsustainable slaughter. It fears that increased demand for wild boar meat will make inroads into populations in national parks and sanctuaries.

“From an eco-system perspective, the wild boar is an important species,” the WNPS stated. “Free-ranging wild boar feed on animal carcasses, a scavenging role that significantly reduces the disease risk from rotting carcasses … They also feed on eggs, grubs and larvae of many agricultural pests, as well as weeds like sedges.”

Conservationists also point out the difficulties of regulating the wild boar meat trade if the law is relaxed. Although wild boar meat is traded widely undercover in the countryside only on 38 occasions last year did raids result in the seizure of meat offered for sale, according to Department of Wildlife Conservation sources.

Environmental Lawyer Jagath Gunawardane confirms that Wild boar is not a protected species under Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO), so a farmer can shoot a trespassing wild pig without issue. But if transport and sale is legalized, DWC will has practical logistical, man power and other issues in regulating any trade of wild boar meat. “There is no way someone distinguish whether the flesh belong to a wild boar killed in a farm land or a from a protected area. The meat will be transport after packetted, so meat of other animals too would be freely transported” Mr.Gunawardane pointed out.

Change of social attitude due to legalization of wild boar meat would also be a negative impact. “First the move will change mindset of farmers to become hunters as they can now earn money by selling meat. Secondly, when wild boar meat can reach cities, people that had never tasted wild board will develop an appetite for venison which will create more demand”. Mr.Gunawardane stressed, that This is against the spirit of wildlife conservation.

Activists also fear a major problem would be caused by the methods of killing wild boar if their meat became a profitable big seller. Already, illegal methods such as trap guns, snares and “hakka patas” (explosives hidden in fruit and other food sources that blow off an animal’s jaws when bitten on) are being used to kill wild boar, and they also kill numbers of non-target species.

Elephant died eating Hakka Patas at Rambewa, A’pura – Oct, 02nd (c) DWC ape pituwa

Leading wildlife experts, elephant researcher Dr. Prithviraj Fernando and the former director-general of the Department of Wildlife, Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, said current laws were more than adequate to prevent wild boars grazing on crops.

“The sale and transport of wild boar meat will legalise bush meat trade which goes against today’s world opinion. We are also due to host the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) next year where bush meat trade will be one of the important issues. If laws are relaxed, Sri Lanka’s move to legalise bush meat trade will no doubt be a topic of discussion bringing shame to the host country,” Dr. Fernando added.

“A farmer can kill a wild boar that destroys his crops,” Dr. Pilapitiya said. “But the new law looks like Sri Lanka is promoting the commercialisation of ‘bush meat’.” Other experts were also forceful in their opposition to the government’s plan.

“Where is the scientific evidence of an ‘exploding’ wild boar population?” leopard experts Dr. Andrew Kittle and Anjali Watson demanded.
They raised the possibility that forest loss and increased human encroachment into wilderness areas might be resulting in wild boars feeding in cropland.

Dr. Kittle and Ms Watson added: “Opening up a legal market for wild boar meat – which is essentially what is being proposed – requires a long-term and concerted effort to manage properly …. there would need to be regulations in terms of hunting seasons, annual quotas, licences and monitoring.”
Dr. Kittle and Ms. Watson revealed that data collected by the Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust showed that in the past 10 years at least 38 leopards had been killed by snares set mostly for wild boar, with the actual toll probably “far higher”.

Leopard killed by Snares – Sept, 26 Nawalapitiya (c) DWC

“Snaring is an extremely unpleasant way to kill an animal as it results in extensive suffering and can drag on for a long time. We know of a young female leopard that was caught in a snare in December of 2017 or January of 2018 and only died from the wound in May.”

One of India’s leading conservationists, Ajay Desai, warned against kneejerk solutions. He said India too had wildlife conflict involving wild herbivores that grew more abundant in certain areas, with nothing been done about the consequences until local people put political pressure on authorities.
“So action was initiated when there were too many complaints and too much pressure, which meant quick action had to be taken and that meant no proper planning process and only quick kneejerk reactions to the crisis,” Mr. Desai said.

Trunk injury from snare -kalawewa (c) Dr.Prithviraj Fernando

“

Two wild cat cubs were found in a tree cavity several days ago by workers at the Bogawantalawa tea estate. The mother could not be spotted so the workers carefully took the cubs away, thinking they had been orphaned.

Estate workers holding the cubs

The Nallathanniya Beat Office of Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) was alerted to the find on October 4 and rushed to the estate where they found that the cubs were young fishing cats only a few days old.

The cubs were in good shape, said wildlife ranger Prabash Karunatilleke. He told the people who found them it was best to take them back to their hiding place because their mother would return for them.

“Fishing cats usually hide their babies when they need to go out on brief hunting trips to find food. Perhaps the mother ran away in fright at the approach of the estate workers, but it would have been around,” Mr. Karunatilleke said.

Wildlife officers put the babies back in the tree cavity and cleared the area of people. When they returned to the site the next morning the babies were not there. Fresh pug marks around the tree indicated the mother had taken her babies to another hideout, Mr. Karunatilleke said.

The wildlife officers had acted sensibly in putting the cubs back in the tree cavity, fishing cat experts said, adding that worried members of the public often believe they are performing an act of kindness in “rescuing” apparently abandoned fishing cat cubs when in fact they were separating babies from their mother.

“If you find a fishing cat cub just check the surrounding area for predators. If the cub seems to be safe, just wait and keep your distance as the mother won’t come if it feels your presence,” fishing cat expert Anya Ratnayake said.

“If the mother does not appear even after about two hours, then there is a chance that the cubs have been orphaned due to some tragic thing having happened to the mother.

“Then, and only then, take the initiative to help them,” Ms. Ratnayake advised.

“The cubs of all our wild cats, including leopards, are adorable and it is difficult to resist the urge to help them, but being with the mother is their best chance of their survival.”

Carnivores are difficult to rehabilitate and be released back to the wild as grown animals, wild cat experts emphasised. It is difficult to teach a baby wild cat the techniques of hunting and other skills that cats need to survive in the wild and which they learn from their mother.

Fishing cat cubs found in Borella. Pic courtesy Urban Fishing cat project

Many fear the fishing cat, known as “handun diviya” in Sinhala. Ms. Ratnayake and fellow young fishing cat expert Ashan Thudugala are doing a good job trying to educate the public about this species.

The fishing cat is a medium-sized wild cat that lives in wetlands. They are nocturnal and secretive wild cats so studying them is difficult for researchers.

Fishing cats face many kinds of dangers. They adapt to wetlands in busy cities, even in Colombo, so are often run over and killed by accident when trying to cross roads.

They are also often caught in snares set primarily for wild boar in many areas. The loss of their wetland habitats is also a major problem.

Published on SundayTimes on 14.10.2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181014/news/rescue-of-wild-cat-babies-backfires-315532.html 

Fishing cats often become roadkill. Babies could go orphaned, if mother get killed or translocated elsewhere (c) Toshan Wijerathne – Near Kirala Kele, Matara

While power-greedy politicians vociferously tarnish the image of country through their undemocratic fights, scientists silently bring some dignity to the name of Sri Lanka.

Marine biologist Asha de Vos

Marine biologist Asha de Vos and cancer researcher Hasini Jayatilaka brought honour to the country when they were internationally recognised this month for their tireless efforts and groundbreaking discoveries.

Ms. de Vos, known worldwide for her research on blue whales and for campaigning for the conservation of oceans, was named in “BBC 100 Women 2018” – a list of 100 inspiring and influential women chosen from 60 countries.

“Asha works in the area of marine conservation to increase diversity, inclusivity and opportunity in the field” BBC stated on November 19.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am to keep putting Sri Lanka on the world map for all the right reasons!” Ms. De Vos said, when notified of the honour.

Marine biology is usually dominated by males but Ms. De Vos’s trailblazing marine research has made her an idol for Asian women.

“I fight for the people in the developing world because 70 per cent of coastlines are around our shores, but because of the exclusive nature of marine conservation very few people have gone into the field. That is what I am changing,” the determined scientist said.

“I will not rest until I see people from all corners of the globe empowered to look after their patch of ocean, so together we can save not just this big blue tank of water but also ourselves.”

The other Sri Lankan scientist honoured few weeks ago, Hasini Jayatilake, was named in the prestigious Forbes Magazine’s list of “30 Under 30” young innovators, entrepreneurs and risk-takers who are changing the world and have been identified as leaders for the next generation.

Dr. Jayatilaka, just 28, discovered a signalling pathway that controls how cancer cells metastasise (multiply) through the body and a way to block that pathway. This has led to the development of new treatment targeting tumour growth and metastasis.

Currently a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University in the United States, Dr. Jayatilaka was born in Australia and raised in Sri Lanka, studying at Ladies’ College, Colombo.

Her education is international: she engaged in undergraduate studies in marine and environmental biology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, gained her Masters in integrative bio-sciences at the University of Oxford and has PhD from the University of Western Australia and Johns Hopkins University in the States.

Meanwhile, last week the annual President’s Awards for Scientific Publication hailed 338 scientists for publishing high

Cancer researcher Hasini Jayatilaka

-impact scientific papers.

The awards were started in 2001 to recognise Sri Lankan scientists with a Sri Lankan institutional affiliation whose work reached international standards.

The publications are peer-reviewed and are awarded after a two-year gap to allow scientific scrutiny for the academic work’s validity and accuracy. This year’s awards recognised work published in 2016.

The awarding scheme is organised by the National Research Council (NRC), set up under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research.

“This award scheme was initiated in 2001 because of the perceived need to create a better research culture in our country by encouraging Sri Lankan scientists to increase their research output both in terms of quality and quantity, which was, at that time, at a very low level,” NRC Chairman Professor Janaka de Silva said.

Published on SundayTimes on 02.12.2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181202/news/science-puts-lanka-in-headlines-for-all-the-right-reasons-322870.html

Northern Sri Lanka’s beauty eluded the third eye of nature photographers for a long time because of security issues. But with restrictions eased after the war, well known wildlife photographers Thilak Jayaratne, Janaka Gallangoda and Nadika Hapuarachchi became frequent visitors to this region. The beauty of Mannar and Adam’s Bridge sand islands mesmerised these photographers and after a gruelling five-year effort, they compiled their experiences into a coffee table book ‘Mannar Unbound’ with the assistance of Tamara Fernando.

Mannar: A land of rugged beauty

‘Mannar Unbound’ is a result of their extensive field work documenting the flora and fauna of the region. The book spans a variety of photographic genres including avian photography, landscapes, underwater fauna and architectural ruins. Capturing the images on this challenging terrain requires infinite patience to follow trails, waiting patiently at nesting sites and often taking bumpy rides on a rough sea. The photographers had to visit the same sites repeatedly to photograph during different seasons – Nadeeka Hapuarachchi recollects the experience on behalf of the team of authors.

Some images of the book are worthy of special mention. These include photographs of species of pelagic seabirds in the Sand Islands, the critically endangered Dugong and some choice underwater treasures.However, “Mannar Unbound” is not just a collection of photographs as this visual story is intertwined with a historical story exploring the times of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial periods. The book goes further down in history telling Mannar’s tale from the glorious days of the Anuradhapura kingdom. It recollects how ‘Mahatiththa’ (Great Port) – as Mannar was known in ancient times –allowed Sri Lanka’s great kings to reap the benefits of the ancient Maritime Silk Route. The book then explores Mannar’s iconic pearl fishery and Robert Knox’s famous accounts of the region.

Adam’s Bridge, that consist of eight  sand islands under Sri Lankan territories is the only recorded location in Sri Lanka to have nesting sites for several species of pelagic sea birds. The photographers made many visits to photograph birds in these unique islands. They recall their experiences:

“Sea birds used to congregate on the third island of Adam’s Bridge National Park for their annual nesting season. When you approach the third island the first observation one makes is a mesmerizing low-set dark cloud hovering over the island, that happens to be large flocks of pelagic birds in multitudes, jostling each other to feed their hatchlings. If you were to compel a bit closer, the next encounter is a deafening cacophony of chicks and adults.”

The book recollects the mystical beauty of these sand islands. “It feels like you have this uninhibited piece of paradise all to yourself. During high tide nature puts on an extraordinary display, filling the basins of the islands with gushing sea water, which gives an appearance of the Amazon river basin on aerial photographs. The scenery melts effortlessly from white sandy beaches and gentle undulations of sand dunes to verdant salt marshes. I can happily spend the whole day here, watching from a vantage point at endless turquoise water crashing against deserted white sand shores,” one account states.

Spot-billed Duck

There are lots of coffee table books capturing the terrestrial animals. Rarely are there are books that capture the beauty of the ocean’s depths. But the photographers of ‘Mannar Unbound’ even dived to capture its unique marine biodiversity and  even managed to photograph a dugong – the most critically endangered mammal in Sri Lanka.

Mannar island is only a part of Mannar District, but if you have a closer look, it reveals a region that is also home to dry riverine forests, damana grasslands and dry monsoon forests. The book also portrays photos taken in other parts of Mannar District such as Madhu Sanctuary and Giant’s Tank.

“The leaves are still dripping from an overnight downpour when Janaka slings on his day pack and heads out into the river on a day with a damp morning chill. It is just after the daybreak and already the Madhu Forest is alive with hoots and chatter. A strange ululating chant starts up in the distance, fades out then builds again. ‘Listen! says Janaka, grabbing my arm and cocking one ear, that is a ‘Ulama’, can you hear? There are two of them, singing a duet”- the authors beautifully reconstruct their experience elsewhere in Mannar District in the chapter ‘Magic of Monsoon’.

“Photographs in this book freeze moments in time. But the story of Mannar is dynamic, cosmopolitan and changing even as the book goes to print. While our photographic stills capture images of beauty, they are threatened daily by encroaching industry, aggressive tourism and poor resource management. Mannar Unbound is a clarion call to savour the beauty of the region and to assist, urgently in its preservation” ‘Mannar Unbound’ concludes.

With nearly 300 breathtaking photographs that span nearly 400 pages, ‘Mannar Unbound’  is priced at Rs.9000, but there is a pre-publication offer of Rs.6500 until December 9. The ‘Mannar Unbound’ photographic exhibition portraying some of the work in the book will be held at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on December 8 and 9. The exhibition is open to the public.

Greater Flamingo – a key Migratory attraction of Mannar

Gulf of Mannar’s rich biodiversity too featured in ‘Mannar Unbound’

Published on SundayTimes on 02.12.2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181202/plus/savour-and-save-the-beauty-of-mannar-a-clarion-call-through-pictures-322539.html 

Published on SundayTimes 09.12.2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181209/news/sri-lanka-attends-first-ever-global-summit-on-sustainable-blue-economy-323968.html

From the Blue Economy Conference (c) http://www.nation.co.ke

Delegates from around the world gathered at Nairobi, Kenya, last week to discuss how to make the emerging ‘blue economy’ sustainable. The gathering is seen as the first global-level conference dedicated to discuss blue economy emphasising the need for sustainable use of oceanic resources.

Sri Lanka sent a six-member delegation that included officials from the Fisheries Department who said the discussions were very relevant to Sri Lanka.

The sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystems, has been termed ‘blue economy’– a popular buzz word lately. The summit covered issues facing oceans, seas, lakes, rivers and other water bodies.

Fisheries is what comes to mind as the most important resource that oceans provide. However, as land-based resources fast diminish, oceans become the last frontier that can give an extended lifeline for humankind, experts point out. Nations have already started exploring the oceans for resources other than fish, such as minerals, oil, gas and other resources as well. According to reports India plans to spend more than $1billion during the next decade to develop and test deep-sea technologies – including human-piloted exploration submarines – in the Indian Ocean that could give access to once inaccessible mineral riches up to 6.8 miles (11 km) under water.

While Sri Lanka can benefit working closely with nations who have capabilities in extracting resources, Sri Lanka should not allow its resources to be over-exploited, point out experts. Sri lanka and India have already locked horns on the issue of Tamil Nadu fishermen invading our waters and employing harmful bottom-trawling methods to catch fish. Having international corporation to solve these kinds of issues is important, therefore it is important that Sri Lanka makes use of these kinds of summits to tackle trans-boundary issues strategically, the experts add.

Blue Economy (c) World Bank

Fisheries Department director Monty Ranathunga who was a member of the delegation that attended the Nairobi said at the end of the three-day summit eight statements, dubbed ‘The Nairobi declaration of Intent on Advancing Global Sustainable Blue Economy’ was issued.

Participants at the summit recognised that with population growth, demand for goods and services will also grow accordingly, and that this will exert additional pressure on land-based resources, which are slowly diminishing or already over exploited in many cases and welcomed the global interest in developing and conserving the resources of a sustainable blue economy,the official said.

Deep-sea mining possibly as damaging as land mining

The Nairobi declaration also stated that with collective determination, and building on efforts at local, national and international levels, the global community can intensify investments and harness the full potential of the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers to accelerate economic growth, create jobs and fight poverty. Simultaneously, the world can improve the health of the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers and the ecosystems they support. The declaration also recognised that science and research are crucial for policy development, implementation and evaluation, the official further said.

Click below for ‘Nairobi Statement of Intent Advancing Global Sustainable Blue Economy’.

Nairobi-Statement-of-Intent-Advancing-Global-Sustainable-Blue-Economy

Top expert urges rethink on wildlife crime investigation. Published on SundayTimes on 09.12.2018 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181209/news/use-forensic-science-to-drag-mugalans-killers-into-court-323990.html

[Note: this was published alongside of article investigating the slain of the Udawalawe Tusker ‘Mugalan’ http://www.sundaytimes.lk/181209/news/investigations-reveal-elephant-killed-for-its-tusks-2-suspects-remanded-323993.html]

Investigations into crimes against animals should be handled as forensically as normal criminal investigations, a top animal crimes expert urged as sadness and anger swept the nation over the killing of the Udawalawe tusker, Mugalan, last week.

The maximum penalty for the culprits was urged.

“A proper crime scene investigation is the first step in tackling wildlife crimes,” said Ravi Perera, an international expert in wildlife crime who has offered, using his Serendipity Wildlife Foundation, to train Sri Lankan personnel to investigate such incidents.

Mr. Perera has nearly 25 years’ experience in forensic investigation, with special expertise in wildlife crime. Now based in the United States, he is regularly engaged in solving wildlife crime cases in Africa, especially in Kenya where organised gangs of poachers hunt elephants and rhinos for their tusks and horns.

“While the method of investigation is the same, a wildlife crime scene is very different to everyday crime scenes in cities’ Mr. Perera explained:

investigators are dealing with possibly a decomposing carcass or a carcass that has been partially or completely devoured by another animal.

“Very often, we have to work in harsh surroundings, rough terrain, and even in dangerous situations where elephants and rhinos could return to the location to protect the dead,” Mr. Perera said.

While a crime scene in urban areas could be sometimes worked with one or two personnel, a crime scene in the wild would require armed guards to secure the scene as well as personnel to take photographs, gather evidence and search the crime scene.

The crime scene itself is much larger in the wild, where a suspect’s shoe or footprints or a tyre track from a vehicle could be located several hundred meters away.

The animal could have been shot at one place but have succumbed to its wounds a distance away. The location where the animal was shot is as important as the place it died as key evidence could be found at either location or in between them.

“In shooting cases such as Mugalan’s it is important to focus on key evidence such as the projectiles (bullets) recovered from the carcass. If the projectile is not severely damaged, there is equipment in forensic labs to determine the type of weapon it was fired from,” the expert said.

Most projectiles found in animals remain intact due to body mass and bones unless there is an exit wound and the projectile is unrecoverable.

Mugalan shot at close range in Udawalawe. Pix by Rahul S. Hettiarachchi

“We also search for the casings that have been ejected from the weapon. Should a weapon be recovered, these casings can be matched in the lab to a test-fired casing from the weapon. Very often, a perfect match is enough to convict a criminal.

“If a suspect is found, a suspect’s clothing that he wore at the time of the shooting can be examined for gunshot residue,” Mr. Perera said.

Poachers in Sri Lanka also use wire snares and “hakka patas” – improvised explosive devices embedded in food that blow the animal’s head apart.

“Unfortunately, obtaining evidence from snares is almost impossible,” Mr. Perera said. “You have catch the culprit in possession of the device to even consider prosecution.

“Hakka patas too would be very hard to analyse for evidence as it is often discovered after the damage is done, and gathering DNA evidence to match to the suspect is impossible due to the fact that it has been severely contaminated with the baited fruit and is then mixed with the elephant’s saliva and other body fluids – not to mention that the explosion further destroys your evidence.”

Mr. Perera, who works with international agencies in curbing wildlife crime, raised the need for Sri Lankan authorities to use new tools and technology.

“Forensic tools and technology have increased in leaps and bounds within the last eight to 10 years,” he said. “When it was previously impossible to do so, presumptive blood tests, gunshot residue-testing, thermal imaging, infra-red photography, fingerprint analysis and much more can now be done onsite and the results obtained within a few minutes.

“Forensic crime labs are also equipped with laser imaging and various light sources to analyse fingerprints and machines to process DNA and obtain results in about an hour,” he said.

Ravi with the last remaining Northern White rhino Sudan before its death

Blue Pansy (Female)

Adam’s Peak is known as ‘Samanala Kanda’ (Butterfly Mountain) because large numbers of butterflies fly towards it during the pilgrim season. According to folklore these butterflies fly to pay tribute to the mountain and with the Adam’s Peak season starting next week, this is probably the best time to launch the ‘Field Guide to Butterflies of Sri Lanka’.

This field guide is by Dr. Michael van der Poorten, the acclaimed butterfly expert together with his wife Dr.Nancy van der Poorten. The authors’ 2016 book ‘The Butterfly Fauna of Sri Lanka’ was widely hailed as a landmark publication for its comprehensive coverage of the biology of the butterflies of Sri Lanka. But it was a large heavy book which was difficult to carry around; so the need for a small, easy-to-carry book that could be taken out to the field arose, giving birth to this compact field guide.

The guide provides a wealth of information on all of Sri Lanka’s 248 butterflies. Each butterfly is described with key information on its appearance, behaviour, habitat, flight period and prime locations for observation. The guide carries close-up images of butterflies taken from different angles featuring the most distinguishable features.

The butterflies of Sri Lanka are broadly grouped as Skippers, Blues, Brush-foots, Swallowtails, Metalmarks, Whites and Yellows. While a swallowtail butterfly could be distinguished easily from a skipper butterfly, some species within the groups are difficult to separate as the markings differentiating them could be hard to pick. While images point out these features, the guide additionally provides ‘identification keys’ assisting identification.

The book is arranged by grouping together those species that look similar rather than by taxonomic order that scientists often use. This is a notable difference as it helps butterfly enthusiasts to identify a butterfly in the field.The detailed distribution maps showing current and historical records of the range of different butterfly species is another feature that is quite useful to verify specially the sighting of some rare butterflies.

Talking on the challenge of getting a good butterfly photograph, Dr.van der Poorten advises that a macro lens from 100 to 200 mm is a useful tool. But patience is what is absolutely essential if you decide to follow butterflies. The time of day too is important; the best time for photography is early morning when the butterflies start to warm up; many will open their wings when settled only at this time, our butterfly expert added.

Most of our gardens are visited by at least a few species of butterflies, so they are special creatures that can bring the beauty of nature to our own doorstep. In the chapter “Through the eyes of a butterfly” the authors give guidance to those who would like to make their garden butterfly-friendly. “In order to have a flourishing butterfly garden, you need to see the space through the eyes of a butterfly: what are the resources that butterflies need to survive. What will attract them to the garden and what will keep them around and prevent their departure elsewhere”. Butterflies are undoubtedly so beautiful and harmless that they are a great introduction for kids, so make your garden ‘butterfly friendly’, Dr.van der Poorten urges.

The Field Guide to the Butterflies of Sri Lanka by Michael and Nancy van der Poorten will be launched on December 20 at 6 p.m. at the Met Department Auditorium, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. The field guide is priced at Rs. 4,500, but can be purchased at the launch at Rs.3,000

White Orange Tip (Male)

IndianAwl

May the new year 2019 be a good one for the environment..!!

Published on SundayTimes on 17.02.2019 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190217/news/count-the-birds-public-urged-to-join-global-initiative-336547.html

As the annual initiative, Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) from February 15-18–where birdwatchers around the world are invited to count and report details of birds in the area in which they live– marks its last day tomorrow, a veteran ornithologist here has said it was important to keep a tab on what are regarded as common birds too.

Prof. Sarath Kotagama says that while many are concerned about the declining numbers of rare birds, the numbers of common birds, too, could dip towards extinction without anyone realising it and, therefore, it was important to take a count of those birds too.

The latest ‘State of the World Birds’ report published by BirdLife International reveals that while highly threatened species continue to go extinct, what were once considered common and widespread species too are in sharp decline. At least 40% of bird species worldwide (3,967) have declining populations, compared with 44% that are stable (4,393) according to the report.

“As the birds around are mostly common ones, even an amateur birdwatcher can identify most of the birds around us. So the public too can join in such citizen science initiatives such as the GBBC and make note of the common birds which can be an indicator of the state of the environment,” Prof.Kotagama explained.

The global Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is a citizen science project conducted annually in mid-February. During this four-day event birdwatchers around the world are invited to count and report details of birds in the area in which they live.

The Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL) based at Colombo University urges Sri Lankan birders also to participate in GBBC. “The migratory birds are still in Sri Lanka in mid-February, hence the timing of the GBBC is good to get an annual snapshot of birds here,” FOGSL president Dr.Sampath Seneviratne said.

“The GBBC is also a great opportunity to introduce not just adults, but children too to birding and build greater awareness of our biodiversity and its conservation. So get your kids to participate in this event,” urges Dr.Seneviratne.

Meanwhile pointing out that the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has announced its first coordinated flamingo count in the region on February 23 and 24, Dr.Seneviratne said that FOGSL will carry out a similar programme here too on the same days. He invites birdwatchers here to be a part of the programme by calling the FOGSL hotline on 0789330076. The Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rosues) is a common winter visitor to Sri Lanka, and birdwatchers and wildlife photographers flock to Mannar and other northern regions to get a glimpse of the spectacular gathering of hundreds of these birds.

Flamingos (c) Janaka Bandara

How to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count 
Participants are asked to count birds for as little as 15 minutes on one or more days of the four-day event and upload their sightings on eBird (http://www.ebird.org). 

If you find it difficult to access eBird, make a list of the birds seen around in your area their numbers and details of the location, sounds etc and email to gardenbirdwatch.srilanka@gmail.com urges FOGSL or call their hotline 0789330076 for any assistance. 

Sinhala/Tamil new year (Aluth Avurudu) is a main cultural event in Sri Lanka. Inorder to spend a ‘Natureful new year’, I stepped out to enjoy birds in our garden along with my daughter on morning of 14th of April. We observed many birds along with a Kingfisher nest. After a long pause, I restarted my regular column ‘Biodiversity of Home gardens’ with this article published on 01.05.2019 on Vidusara Science Weekly.

පසුගිය සතියේ සැමරූ අප්‍රේල් අලුත් අවුරුද්ද අපේ ඉහළම සංස්කෘතික උත්සවයයි. අලුත් අවුරුදු උදාව, ආහාර පීසිම, ආහාර අනුභවය, වැඩ ඇල්ලීම ආදී දේ නියමිත වෙලාවකට නැතහොත් නැකතකට සිදු කිරීම අලුත් අවුරුද්දේ දී පිළිපදින සම්ප්‍රදායික චාරිත්‍ර වන අතර, ‘නොනගතය’ නැතහොත් සුබ නැකැත් නොමැති කාලයේ දී ආහාර ගැනීම ඇතුළු සියලු වැඩවලින් ඉවත් වී සිටිය යුතු බව දැක්වේ.

අප ගෙවත්ත අසල කැදැල්ල සොයා ගැනීමට සතියකට පමණ පෙර කදාන ප්‍රදේශයේ නිරීක්ෂණය කළ පිලිහුඩු පැටවෙකුගේ දොරට වැඩුම (c) Luigi Fernando

මේවර මෙම ‘නොනගතය’ යෙදී තිබුනේ උදෑසන වරුවේ නිසා වෙනත් විශේෂ වැඩක් කරන්නට එපා යැයි කියවෙන නොනගතය පරිසරයත් සමග ගතකරන්න ට සිතා ගත මම දියණියත් සමග ගෙවත්තට පිළිපන්නෙමු.

අවුරුද්ද ලැබීම සනිටුහන් කරමින් පත්තු කල රතිඤ්ඤ හඩින් බියපත් වී දෝ, වෙනදා ගෙවත්තේ උදෑසන සුලබව දක්නට ලැබෙන කුරුල්ලන් දක්නට නොලැබිණි. අලුත් අවුරුද්දේ පණිවිඩ කාරයා ලෙස සැලකෙන කොහා ගේ ගීතය ද වෙනදා උදයේ ඇසෙන මුත්, මේ අවුරුදු දා අප ගෙවත්ත අවට සිටි කොහා ලා ගේ ද ශබ්දයක් නොමැති විය.

එක වනම අහසින් සුදු පුළුන් ගුලි දෙකක් පාත් වෙනවා මෙන්, අප ගෙවත්ත අසල තිබු උස පොල් ගසට පියඹා විත් වැසුවේ සුදු මහ-කොකුන් (Great Egret) ජෝඩුවකි. මින් පෙර කිසිදාක සුදු මහා-කොකා අප ගෙවත්ත අසලින් වාර්තා වී නොතිබුණු නිසා, මෙය විශේෂ නිරීක්ෂණයක් විය. සමහර විට අසල තෙත් බිමක සිටි මෙම සුදු මහා-කොකුන් රතිඤ්ඤ හඩින් බියපත් වී අප ගෙවත්ත අසලට ආවා වන්නට පුළුවන.

අප ගෙවත්තේ දිය බදුනෙන් දිනපතා නෑමට පුරුදු වී සිටින කොන්ඩ කුරුල්ලන් (Red-vented Bulbul) ජෝඩුව මද වෙලාවකින් අප ගෙවත්තට පැමිණි අතර, තම ප්‍රියතම වේදිකාව වූ කණුව උඩින් ලැගගත් අළු කොබෙය්යා (Spotted Dove) තම උදෑසන ගීය ගායනා කරන්නට පටන් ගත්තේ වෙනදාට වඩා පමාවිලා ය. දොළොස් දෙනෙකුගෙන් පමණ සමන්විත නිතඹ-රත් වැහිලිහිණින් (Red-rumped Swallow) රංචුව ක් එකිනෙකා පරයා රවුමට පියාඹන්නට වුයේ උදෑසන ව්‍යායාමයට මෙනි.

අවුරුදු දා මහා රන්ඩුවකට පැටලුණු හොට පටලවා ගත පොලොස් කොට්ටෝරුවන් (Brown-headed Barbet) දෙදෙනෙකු දෙපසට වුයේ, ගෙවත්තේ කාමරන්කා ගසේ පහලට රූටා විත් බිමට වැටෙන්නට ඔන්න මෙන්න තියා ය. දෙන්නා දෙපස ට වුවත් යළිත් කොයි මොහොතක හෝ රණ්ඩුව පටන් ගැනීමට මෙන් හොටය විවෘත කරගෙන එකිනෙකාට තර්ජනය කරන ලිලවෙනි.

අප මේ සියල්ල නිසොල්මනේ බලා හිදිද්දී මහා හඩින් කෑ ගසමින් විත් අප ඉහලින් ම තිබු කම්බියේ ලැග ගත්තේ ළය-සුදු පිළිහුඩුවෙකි (White-throated Kingfisher). අප ගැන කිසි තැකීමක් නොකළ පිළිහුඩුවා හිස අමුතු ඇළයකට කරකවමින් නිරීක්ෂණය කළේ ගොදුරක් බව දැන සිටියත්, කුරුල්ලාගේ ඉලක්කය අප මිදුලේ තිබූ තරමක් විශාල මානෙල් මල් වග කල සිමෙන්ති බේසමේ දමා සිටි ගප්පි මාළුවෙකු බව තේරුම් යනවිට පමා වැඩිවිය. එක්ෂණයකින් පහලට පියඹා ආ පිලිහුදුවාට මාළුවා ඩැහැ ගැනීමට ගත වුයේ තත්පරයකටත් අඩු කාලයකි. මාළුවා අඩ පණ කිරීමට කම්බියේ දෙපැත්තේ කිහිප වරක් ගැසූ පිළිහුඩුවා එක් වරම නැවතත් ගෙදර පාර දෙසින් බිමට බැස්සේ මාලුවාද හොටයේ සිර කරගෙනමය.

පිළිහුඩු කැදැල්ල පෙන්වන මාගේ දියණිය

පිළිහුඩුවා වැසූ තැන සෙවීමට පාරට ගොස් ඒ අසලින් ගලා යන තරමක් විශාල කාණුව ද හොදින් නිරීක්ෂණය කළත් පිළිහුඩුවා ගේ වගක් වත් සොයා ගැනීමට නොහැකි විය. විනාඩි කීපයකින් අප දෙදෙනා ම තාප්පයේ වූ තරමක් විශාල බටයකින් පිළිහුඩුවා මතු වුයේ අප දෙදෙනාම පුදුමයට පත් කරමිනි. අප දෙදෙනා අතාරින විදුලි වේගයෙන් පියඹා ගිය පිළිහුඩුවා අසල කම්බියේ වසා මහා හඩින් නද කරන්නට වුයේ අපගේ පැමිණීම කරදරයක් වූ බව දන්වමිනි.

පිළිහුඩුවා ට ඉඩ දෙමින් අප මදක් පසුපසට විත් බලා හිදිද්දී, තවත් සතෙකු අල්ලාගත් කුරුල්ලා නැවතත් පයිප්පය ඇතුලට ගියේ එතැන පිලිහුදුවාගේ කැදැල්ල ඇති බව නිරාවරණය කරමිනි.

පිළිහුඩුවන් සාමාන්‍යයෙන් ළිං ඉවුරක හෝ ජලය ආශි‍්‍රතව ඉවුරක උමගක් සාදා එහි කෙළවර කැදැල්ල ලෙස යොදා ගනී. හරාගැනීමට සුදුසු පසක් සහිත ස්වාභාවික ඉවුරක් නොතිබූ අප ගෙවත්ත අසල ජිවත් වූ මේ පිලිහුඩු යුවල ඒ වෙනුවට යොදා ගත් විකල්පය නිර්මාණාත්මකයි නේද..? විශේෂයෙන්ම මේ පයිප්පය පිහිටියේ තරමක් උසින් නිසා, විලොපිකයෙකුටවත් ඒ වෙත ලගා වීම අපහසුය.

අප මේ පිළිහුදු කැදැල්ල නිරීක්ෂණය කළේ අවුරුද්දේ නොනගතය වේලාවේදීය. නොනගතයේ දී ආහාර අනුභවයෙන් ද වැළකී සිටිය යුතු නමුත්, මේ පිලිහුඩු දෙමාපියන්ට නම් අවුරුද්දේ වගක් වත් නොතිබුනේ, අවුරුදු චාරිත්‍ර වලට වඩා තම පැටවුන් බඩගින්නේ නොතිබීමේ අභිලාශය නිසාවෙන්  මෙනි.

වෙනත් කොහෙන් දෝ අල්ලාගත් තවත් කුඩා මාළුන් කීප දෙනෙකු, ගැඩිවිල්ලන්, කටුසු පැටවෙකු, හුනකු මෙන්ම කුඩා තලගොයි පැටවෙකු ද අල්ලා ගෙන කැදැල්ල වෙත මේ පිළිහුඩු දෙමාපියෝ එන අයුරු, ‘නොණගත කුරුළු නැරඹුමේ’ දී නිරීක්ෂණය කලෙමු.

මේ ලිපිය ලියන අප්‍රේල් 22 වනදා වන විට, මෙම පයිප්ප කැදැල්ල අසලට ගිය විට ඇතුලින් පිලිහුඩු පැටවුන් ගේ හඩ ඇසෙන අතර, තවත් නොබෝ දිනකින් ම මේ පැටවුන්ගේ ‘දොරට වැඩුම’ සිදුවනු ඇතැයි අප සැවොම බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් පසුවන්නෙමු.

(Here is the eBird log for birding on Avurudu day 14.04.2019 https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S54932173)

පිළිහුඩු දෙමාපියෝ

ආහාර රැගෙන යන වැඩිහිටි කුරුල්ලා

පිළිහුඩුවන් බිත්තර දමා පැටවුන් දැඩි කරනුයේ මෙවැනි ගැන ඉවුරක වැනි තැනක සදා ගත කුඩා උමගකය. මේ මල් පිලිහුදුවකු (Common kingfisher) කැදැල්ලකි.

Collared Scops Owl is probably the most wide spread owl species in Sri Lanka. They are common in home gardens and Jayathri Dias observed a family of owls just a day after the Sinhala/Tamil new year in April. Quite interestingly, I had a similar experience on April New Year day in 2003 where I observed parents along with 3 baby owls. I managed to feed them cockroaches. I included observations of few others to show this owl is a common garden bird in Sri Lanka. This was published on Vidusara  15.05.2019. 

අලුත් අවුරුද්දේ වැදගත් සංස්කෘතිකමය අංගයක් වනුයේ කද මලු බැද ගෙන නෑදෑ හිතවතුන් බැලීමට යාමයි. සති කීපයකට පෙර සැමරූ මෙවර අලුත් අවුරුදු දා කොට්ටාවේ ජයත්‍රි ඩයස් පලිපාන ගේ ගෙවත්තට අවුරුදු නෑගම් ආවේ නම් වෙනස්ම ආකාරයේ හිතවතුන් පිරිසකි.

පහත දැක්වෙනුයේ රාත්‍රී 8 ට පමණ මේ අමුත්තන් දැකීමෙන් පසු ජයත්‍රි විසින් Facebook මේ පිලිබදව අප්‍රේල් 14 වනදා රාත්‍රියේ දැමු සටහන්කි..

“මේ වේලාවේ……. බස්සො 4 , 5ක් අපිට එක සැරේ පෙන්න ඇවිත් ඉන්නවා…. හරිම සතුටුයි එයලා එච්චර ගොඩක් ඉන්න එක ගැන…..” ඔව්.. ඒ අවුරුදු අමුත්තන් වෙන කිසිවෙක් නොව කුඩා බස්සන් පවුලකි.

“අපි පස්සෙ එයාලා දිහා බලන්න ගියෙත් නැ, එයාලට කරදරයක් වුනොත් කියලා… එත් පස්සෙ රෑ 11 විතටත් ඉන්නවා දැකලා , කාට හරි පෙන්නන්න ඔනි වුනොත් කියලා එක්කෙනෙක්ගෙ photo එකක් ගත්තා…” ජයත්‍රි පසුව සටහන් කළේ බස්සෙකුගේ ජායාරුපයක් ද සමගිනි.

මෙම ජයාරුපයෙන් තහවුරු වුයේ, මේ අවුරුදු අමුත්තා කර පටි කන් බස්සා (Collared Scops Owl) බවයි. කර පටි කන් බස්සා අප බොහොමයක ගේ ගෙවතු ආශ්‍රිතව දැකගත හැකි සුලබම නිශාචර පක්ෂියා වේ.

One of the owl observed at Jayathri Dias’ garden in Kottawa

මයිනකුගේ පමණ තරම් වන මේ බස්සා දිගින් සෙන්ටිමීටර 23-25 පමණ වේ. දුඹුරුවන් හෝ අළුවන් පැහැයක් සහිත උඩු කය සුදෙන් වයිරම් ලෙස ඇත්තේ, පරිසරයට හොදින් අනුගත වීමට උපකාරී වෙමිනි. කන් පිල්ගොනු සහ දුඹුරු ඇසිපහති මගින් සමාන තරමේ අනෙක් බස්සන් ගෙන් වෙන් කොට හදුනා ගත හැකිය. දිවා කාලය අදුරු තැනක – ගස් බෙනයක් හෝ ගෙයක පියස්සක් යට හෝ ගත කරයි. කුඩුවක් නොසාදන අතර බිත්තර ලන්නේ කුහරයකය.

අපගේ ගෙවතු සහ නගරබදව වාසය කරන බස්සන් රැයේ විදුලි පහන් අසල හැසිරෙන්නට වැඩි කැමැත්තක් දක්වන්නේ එම ආලෝකය වෙත ආකර්ෂණය වන කෘමින් මෙන්ම එම කෘමින් අල්ලා ගැනීමට ඒ වෙත ඇදෙන හූනන් වැනි කුඩා සතුන් ද දඩයම් කර ගැනීම පිණිසයි. කුඩා මීයන් ද ඔවුන් ආහාරයට ගන්නේ අපට හානිකර සතෙකු ගේ ගහණය පාලනයට උදව් දෙමිනි.

ගොම්මනේදී තම දිවා නවාතැනෙන් එළියට එන මේ බස්සන් – විශේෂයෙන් ම ඔවුන්ගේ සුවැදී සමයේදී (Breeding season) තම සහකරුවන් අතරට වී නාද කිරීම සිරිතකි. සාමාන්‍යයෙන් බස්සන සියල්ලන් ම නාද කරනුයේ ‘හ්ම්…හ්ම්…’ කියා යැයි අප සිතුවත්, මේ කරපටි කන් බස්සා ගේ නාදය වෙනස් වේ. පක්ෂි විද්‍යාඥ G .M. හෙන්රි ගේ කුරුළු පොතෙහි මෙම නාදය දක්වා ඇත්තේ ‘What’ ඉංග්‍රීසි යන වචනය ‘t’ ගබ්ද නොනැගෙන සේ කියූ විට එන හඩ හා සමාන බවය. එය ‘වුක්’… ‘වුක්’… ලෙස තත්පර 2/3 පමණ අතරක් තබා ‘වු’ යන්න බර කර සිදු කරන නාදයක් නාදයක් ලෙස ද සැලකිය හැකිවේ. මෙසේ එක දිගට විනාඩි කිහිපයක් නාද කිරම මේ බස්සන් ගේ සිරිතකි.

Indian Scops Owl – home garden Kandy (c) Nimal Karunaratne

කෙසේ වෙතත් මොවුන් පැටවුන් සමග සන්නිවේදනයේදී නාදය වෙනස් වන අතර, එය පිඹින හඩක් ලෙස ඇසෙ. කොට්ටාවේ ජයත්‍රි පැවසුවේ ඇයගේ ගෙවත්තට ආ බස්සන්ද හහ්ම් හහ්ම්ම්ම්ම් සද්දෙ වෙනුවට කලවැද්දෙක්, ඌරුමීයෙක් පිබින සද්දයක් මෙන් පිබින සද්දයක් කළ බවයි. ඇයගේ මේ ප්‍රකාශය, මගේ මතකය 2003 අවුරුදු දා රාත්‍රිය වෙත රැගෙන ගියේය. 2003 වසරේ අප්‍රේල් 14 වනදා අවුරුදු නිමාවෙන් පසු දෙහිවල පිහිටි නිවසේ රාත්‍රී 7.30ට පමණ ජයත්‍රි කියූ පරිදිම අමුතුම පිඹින ශබ්දයක් ගෙවත්තෙන් ඇසුණු නිසා එය නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට මා එළියට බැස්සේ විදුලි පන්දමත් අතැතිවය. වැඩි වෙලාවක් ගත නොකරම ඒ ශබ්දය නැගු අවුරුදු අමුත්තන් සොයා ගැනීමට මට හැකි විය.

එම අවුරුදු දා අපේ දෙහිවල ගෙවත්තේ සිටියේ හරියටම බස්සන් පස් දෙනෙකි. ඒ දෙමාපිය බස්සන් සමග සිටි පැටවුන් තිදෙනෙකි. සමහර විටෙක එදා මුල්වරට දොරට වැඩි පැටවුන් අවට පරිසරය පිළිබද මහත් විමසිල්ලෙන් පසු විය. විටෙක තම හිස අමුතු ලෙසේ කරකැවූ ඔවුන් තවත් විටෙක ශරීරය පද්දීමකට ලක් කළේය. වහා පහතට පියඹා ආ වැදුණු බස්සකු, හූනකු අල්ලා ගෙන නැවත තම කුඩා පැටවුන් වෙත පියඹා ගියේය.

මෙම නිරීක්ෂණය මට වෙනස්, තරමක පිස්සු අදහසක් ගෙන ආවේ අලුත් අවුරුද්දේ ගෙවත්තට ආ අවුරුදු අමුත්තන්ට සංග්‍රහයක් නොකර යැවීම හොද නැති යැයි හැගුනු හෙයිනි. කුස්සිය අසල ගොඩ ගසා තිබු හට්ටි කිහිපයක් එහා මෙහා කරද්දී දිවගිය කැරපොත්තන් කිහිප දෙනෙකු මදක් අඩපන කර ගෙවත්තේ බස්සන් වසා සිටි අඹ ගස යටින් හෙමිහිට දමා අවේ මේ බස්සන් මගේ අවුරුදු සංග්‍රහය වූ කැරපොත්තන් අල්ලාගෙන කාවිදෝ යි සැකයෙනි.

එහෙත්, හිමිහිට නැවතත දොර දෙසට අඩි කිහිපයක් පිය තබද්දී ම වහා පහතට පියඹා ආ වැදුණු බස්සෙකු, අර කරපොත්තකු අල්ලා ගෙන එක්ෂණයෙන් නැවත පැටවුන් වෙත පියඹා ගියේ ඔවුන්ට කැවිමටය. අවුරුද්දේ ගෙදරට එන අමුත්තන් වෙනුවෙන් වෙන් කල කැවුම් කොකිස් වෙනුවට, මගේ අවුරුදු අමුත්තන්ට මේ කැරපොත්තන් පිළි ගැන්වීමට ලැබීම නම් මට මහත් සතුටක් විය. එම ක්‍රියාව එක්තරා ආකාරයක පවක් වුවත්, මේ බස්සන් ගේ ප්‍රතික්‍රියාව නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමේ ආශාව ඊට වැඩි වූ නිසා, කීප වරක්ම මේ බස්සන්ට ඒ ‘කැරපොතු අවුරුදු සංග්‍රහය’ කළෙමි.

කරපටි කන් බස්සන් ගේ සුවැදි සමය (breeding season) පෙබරවාරි සිට මැයි දක්වා වේ. බිත්තර 2ක් හෝ 3ක් ගසක් බෙනයක, අතහැර දැමු ගොඩනැගිල්ලක කුහරයක හෝ වෙනත් බාධාවල් අඩු තැනක් බිත්තර දැමීම සදහා තෝරා ගනී. දෙමාපියන් තම පැටවුන් ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට ඉදිරිපත් වන්නේ, කැදැල්ල අසලට ළඟාවීමට නොදෙමිනි.

මේ අපි ගෙවන්නේ කර පටි කන් බස්සාගේ සුවැදී සමයේ අවසන් කොටස නිසා, ගෙවතු ආශ්‍රිත ව ජිවත් වන බොහෝ බස්සන් පවුල් වලට අලුත් සාමාජිකයන් එකතු වී සිටීමට බොහෝ සෙයින් ඉඩ තිබේ. ඒ නිසා ඔබත් මේ දිනවල රාත්‍රියේ ගෙවත්ත නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට යොමු වන්න. මේ බස්සන් ගේ නාදය අසේනවාදැයි අවධානයෙන් සිටීම, කරපටි කන් බැස්සා සොයා ගැනීමට ඇති ලේසිම ක්‍රමයයි. සමහර ගෙවතු වල මෙම බස්සන් දහවල සැගවී ගත කරනවා වන්නටත් පුළුවන්. ඉතින් ඔබගේ ගෙවත්තෙනුත් මෙවැනි නිශාචර කුරුල්ලන් – බස්සන් නිරීක්ෂණය කර තිබේ නම්, ඔබගේ අත්දැකීම් නුත් ‘ගෙවත්තේ ජෛව විවිධත්තවය’  වෙත යොමු කරන්න.

Muwanhelawatta road, Malabe 2013 (c) Ajith Gamage

Indian Scops Owl – home garden Kandy (c) Nimal Karunaratne

Little owls can be funny sometimes – Nov.2017 (c) Nimal Karunaratne

මේ බොහෝ කුරුළු පැටවුන් දොරට වඩින කාලයයි

පසු ගිය සතියේ ලියැවුනු පිළිහුඩු කැදැල්ල මෙන්ම, මෙම සතියේ මෙම බස්සන් පවුල ගැන ලිපියෙන් ද තහවුරු වනුයේ, මේ කාලය බොහෝ කුරුලු පැටවුන් දොරට වඩින සමයක් බවයි. පසුගිය සති කිහිපයේ දීම බොහෝ දෙනෙකු තමන් දුටු කුරුළු කැදලි මෙන්ම කුරුළු පැටවුන් ගේ ජයාරූප ද අප වෙත ඒවා තිබුනු අතර කැදලි වලින් වැටුණු කුරුළු පැටවුන් ට උදව් කරන්නේ කෙසේද කියා අසා යොමු කළ විමසුම් ද තිබු හෙයින්, ලබන සතියේ දී එවැනි කුරුළු පැටවෙකු ට උපකාර කරන්නේ කෙසේද යන්න පිලිබදව ත් සොයා බලමු.

ඔබ ගේ ගෙවත්තේ ත් මෙවැනි කුරුළු කැදැල්ලක් හෝ ලගදී දොරට වැඩි කුරුළු පැටවුන් නිරීක්ෂණය කර ඇත්නම් එවැනි අත්දැකීම් ද ‘ගෙවත්තේ ජෛව විවිධත්වය’ වෙත එවන්න. ගෙවත්තේ ඔබගේ නිරීක්ෂණයන් විදුසර පුවත් පත හරහා හෝ කෙළින්ම විද්‍යුත් තැපෑල මගින් malaka.rodrigo@gmail.com ලිපිනයට හෝ 0789330076 යන ජංගම දුරකතනයට කෙටි පණිවිඩයක් මගින් හෝ දන්න්වන්න.

ඔබගේ වැදගත් නිරීක්ෂණයන් මේ ලිපි පෙළ හරහා ඉදිරිපත් කිරීමට ද අවකාශ ලබා දීමට බලාපොත්තු වන්නෙමු.

International scientists will meet in Sri Lanka in September to discuss saving life forms in the tropics, where 80 per cent of all species live and where the greatest threats to biodiversity lie. Published on SundayTimes on 16.06.2019 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190616/news/international-scientists-to-meet-in-lanka-on-tropics-crisis-353692.html 

Tropical region is home to diverse habitats (c) Ruchira Somaweera

“About 200 world-renowned scientists are expected to participate in this conference, organised by the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC)’s Asia-Pacific Chapter,” Dr. Enoka Kudavidanage, conference chair and ATBC country representative said.

Discussions will take place with a heightened sense of urgency as a key United Nations study predicts that 1 million species risk extinction.

“The bonds that hold Nature together may be at risk of unravelling from deforestation, overfishing, development and other human activities,” National Geographic stated, reporting on the results of the UN Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services issued in May.

The tropics, which encompass 40 per cent of the Earth’s surface area, has diverse habitats ranging from rainforests to deserts, savannah to mangroves that are threatened by deforestation, overfishing, poaching, climate change, pollution and invasive alien species.

The knowledge aired at the conference would help scientists dealing with biodiversity problems in Sri Lanka, conference co-chair, Dr. Sampath Seneviratne of the University of Colombo, said.

The event would be a good opportunity to put Sri Lanka at the “focal point of conservation science at this important juncture”, said Professor Savitri Gunatilleke, Emeritus Professor at the University of Peradeniya.

Dr. Gunatilleke, who was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the ATBC in 2016, the first Sri Lankan to be honoured thus, pointed out that this country had a number of “renowned conservation scientists and many young researchers who aspire to be successful scientists of tropical biodiversity”.

The ATBC conference, the first of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka, will take place at MAS Athena, Thulhiriya from September 10-13. Visit http://atbcap2019.org/index.html for details.

Founded in 1963, the ATBC is the world’s largest and oldest academic society dedicated to the study and conservation of tropical ecosystems. As many as 65 countries are involved in its activities.

Meanwhile the much-hyped World Wildlife Conference (CITES COP18) has been postponed to October pending security clearance following the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.

Authorities hope this conference, which hundreds of foreign scientists are expected to attend, will boost the tourism industry which was devastated by the bombings, carried out by Islamic militants in churches and hotels on April 21.

Most of the earth’s biodiversity hotspots are in tropical region

From Feb/March to May; lots of garden bird species breed. Observation of these nests (ofcourse with care without disturb them) are an interesting activity that makes you more closer to nature. This article discusses about the breeding season of common garden birds in Sri Lanka and importance of observing them without disturbing the nest. This was published on 16.05.2019 on my column ‘Biodiversity of Home Gardens’ on Vidusara Science Weekly. 

මේ ගෙවතු ආශ්‍රිතව හමුවන බොහෝමයක් කුරුල්ලන් ගේ සුවදි සමයේ අවසාන කාර්තුවයි. සති කිහිපයකට පෙර ‘ගෙවත්තේ ජෛව විවිධත්ත්වය’ තුළින් ඉදිරිපත් කෙරුණු අප නිවස ඉදිරිපස තිබු පිළිහුඩුවන් ගේ කැදැල්ල පිලිබදව ඔබට මතක තිබේයැයි සිතමි. මේ වනවිට එම කැදැල්ලෙන් පිලිහුඩු පැටවුන් ඉගිල ගොසින් හමාරය. පසු ගිය සතියේ ලිපිය අවුරුදු දා දුටු කරපටි කන් බස්සන් ගේ පැටවුන් පිළිබද කියවිණි. මිට අමතරව මෙසේ නිරීක්ෂණය කල කුරුළු කැදලි හා ළගදි දොරට වැඩි කුරුළු පැටවුන් කිහිපයකගේ ම විස්තර කුරුළු ලෝලීන් කිහිප දෙනෙකුම පසුගිය දා ඉදිරිපත් කොට තිබුනේ, කැදලි වලින් දොරට වැඩිම් මේ කාලයේ දී බහුලව සිදුවන බව පසක් කරමිනි.

එවාර්ට්ස් රැන්ලේ විසින් ජයාරූප ගත කල නාවල තෙත් බිම් උද්‍යානයේ තිබු කහ කුරුළු කැදැල්ල අප්‍රේල්.2019

මහාචාර්ය සරත් කොටගමගේ ‘සිරි ලක කුරුල්ලෝ’ අත් පොතේ අර්ථ දැක්වීම අනුව ‘සුවැදීම’ (Breed) යනු පැටවෙකු බිහි කිරීමේ මුළු කටයුත්තටම පුළුල් ලෙසින් ද පටු ලෙසින් ද යොදා ගත හැකි වචනයකි. සහකරු තේරීමේ සිට පෙරපෙම් හැසිරීම් ඔස්සේ ලිංගික එක්වීම තෙක් ද ඉන් පසු කැදලි තේරීම, කැදලි තැනීම, බිත්තර දැමීම, බිත්තර රැක්විම, පැවවුන් බිහි කිරීම, පැටවුන්ට කැවීම, පැටවුන් රැක බලා ගැනීම, පැටවුන් කුඩුවෙන් පිටතට එක කර ගෙන යාම යන කටයුතු සහ අන්තිමේදී පටවා නිවහල් සතෙකු බවට පත් වීම දක්වා සියලු කටයුතු පුළුල් අරුතින් සුවැදීමට අයත්වේ. පටු ලෙස අර්ථ දැක්වීමේ දී කුඩුව තැනීම ඇරඹීමේ සිට පැටව කුඩුවෙන් පිට වීම තෙක් වූ සියලු කටයුතුවලට සුවදීම යයි කියනු ලැබේ.

සුවැදීමට, එනම් පැටවෙකු බිහි කිරීමේ මුළු කටයුත්තට අදාළ කෙරුම් රැසක් කුරුල්ලන් හදුනාගැනීමට ද උදව් වේ. මේ කෙරුම් අතර සහකරු තේරීම, කැදලි තැනීම, බිත්තර රැකීම සහ පැටවුන් රැක ගැනීම වෙයි. ඒවාට අදාලව මානාවන් හොට පිළිහැඬවීම (Beak rattling – හඩක් නිකුත් වන පරිදි කුරුල්ලෙකු තම හොටයේ හනු දෙක නැවත නැවත ගටවා ගැනීම), කොන්ඩයන් සහ පොල්කිච්චන් පියාපත් විතිරවමින් නැටීම, කෑදැත්තා සිය කිරිල්ලිය කැදැල්ල තුල මැටි ගසා සිර කිරීම, කපුටන් සහ දෙමලිච්චන් සමාජ පීරිමේ (Social preening -තම හොටයෙන් එකිනෙකා ගේ පිහාටු පීරා දීම/පිරිමැදීම) යෙදීම යන කටයුතු නිදසුන් කිහිපයකි.

ඩිලාන් ජයවික්‍රම ගේ තලවතුගොඩ ගෙවත්තේ නිරීක්ෂණය කල සුටික්කාගේ කැදැල්ල. පෙබරවාරි 2019

මාර්තු සිට අප්‍රෙල්/මැයි මාස වලදී ගෙවතු ආශ්‍රිතව ජීවත් වන බොහෝ කුරුල්ලන් කැදලි තැනීම සිදු කරයි. ඉතින් මේ කැදලි තනන සමයේ කොතරම් දේවල් අපේ ගෙවත්තේ නිරීක්ෂණයට තිබේ ද..?

ඔබත් ඔබගේ ගෙවත්තේ කැදලි තනන කුරුල්ලන් පිළිබද සහ සුවැදී සමය ආශ්‍රිත අනිකුත් ක්‍රියා කාරකම් ගැනත් අධ්‍යයනයට උනන්දු වන්න. කෙසේ වෙතත් කැදලි සහ පැටවුන් නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමේ දී සහ ජයාරූප ගැනීමේදී අප විශේෂයෙන් පරිස්සම් සහගත වීම ඉතාමත් වැදගත් වේ. කුරුලු කූඩුව අසල ඇති ගස්, ගස් අතු, පත්‍ර ආදිය ඉවත් කිරීම එහා මෙහා කිරීම සිදු කිරීමෙන් වැළකිය යුතු වනුයේ එමගින් කැදැල්ල විලෝපිකයන්ට නිරාවරණය විය හැකි බැවින්, කැදැල්ලට අනතුරක් වීමට බොහෝ විට ඉඩ තිබෙන නිසාය.

කුරුළු පැටවුන් නිරීක්ෂණයේදී ද පරිස්සම් විය යුතුය. බොහෝවිට දෙමාපියන් තම පැටවුන් ආරක්ෂාකාරී තැනක තබා ආහාර සොයා යන අවස්ථා තිබේ. එවන් අවස්ථාවක තනිවම සිටින පැටවුන් ඔබගේ පැමිණීමෙන් කලබල වී එම ආරක්ෂාකාරී තැනින් ඉවත් වීමෙන් ලෙහ්සියෙන් විලොපිකයෙකුට ගොදුරුවීමට ඉඩ තිබේ. ඕනෑවට වඩා කිට්ටු වීමෙ දී කලබල වී පැටවුන් දෙමාපියන් ගෙන් වෙන් වීම ද විය හැකිය. නිරීක්ෂණයේ දී හෝ ජායාරුප ගැනීමේදී සැම විටම කුරුල්ලන් ගේ ආරක්ෂාව සැමවිටම ප්‍රමුඛ ව සැලකිය යුතු බව මතකයේ තබා ගන්න.

කැදැල්ලක් අනතුරට පත් වී හෝ කුරුළු පැටවකු එලියට වැටි සිටියහොත් කල යුතු හොඳම දේ, ගෙදර රැගෙන විත් ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට වඩා දෙමාපිය කුරුල්ලන් වෙත බාර දීමයි. එවන් පැටවකු මුනගසුනහොත් හැකියාවක් ඇතොත් නැවත කැදැල්ලේ තබන්න. තුවාල වී සිටිනම් හෝ දෙමාපිය කුරුල්ලන් ඒ අවට නැතිනම් පමණක් ම  මෙවන් අනතුරට පත් කුරුල්ලන් ට උදව් කිරීමට උත්සාහ කරන්න.  කොළඹ අවටින් මුණ ගැසුන කරදරයට පත් කුරුල්ලකු නම් වනජීවී දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව යටතේ අත්තිඩියේ ක්‍රියාත්මක කරදරයට පත් වන සතුන් බේරාගැනීමේ සහ පුනරුත්තාපනය කිරීමේ මධ්‍යස්ථානය (දුරකථන අංක 0113604147) වෙත භාර දිය හැකිය.

පහත දක්වනුයේ අප ගෙවතු ආශ්‍රිතව දැකගත හැකි පොදු කුරුල්ලන් කිහිප දෙනෙකුගේ සුවැදී සමයන් ලෙස මහාචාර්ය කොටගම ගේ ‘සිරි ලක කුරුල්ලෝ’ කුරුළු අත්පොතෙහි දැක්වෙන කාලයන් වේ.  සමහර කුරුල්ලන් ට සුවැදී සමයන් දෙකක් තිබෙන අතර සමහරෙකු ට නිශ්චිත සුවදි සමයක් දැක්විය නොහැක (නැතහොත්, එවන් කුරුල්ලන් ගේ කැදලි වසර පුරාම විටින් විට දැක ගත හැකිවේ).  සමහර කුරුල්ලන් මෙහි දැක්වෙන කාලයන් ට අමතර වද කැදලි තැනීම සිදු කිරීමට ඉඩ තිබෙන අතර, නිසි ලෙස වාර්තා කල ඔබගේ නිරීක්ෂණයන් කුරුළු විද්‍යාඥයන්ට තම දත්ත යාවත්කාල කරගනිමට උපකාරී වනු ඇත. ඒ නිසා ඔබගේ ගෙවත්ත හෝ අවටින් ද මෙවැනි කැදැල්ලක් හෝ පැටව් නිරීක්ෂණයන් ක්ෂේත්‍ර පක්ෂි අධ්‍යයන කවය වෙත email මගින් ලබා දෙන්න gardenbirdwatch.srilanka@gmail.com.

අජිත් ගමගේ විසින් රාජගිරියේ තම ගෙවත්ත අසල නිරීක්ෂණය කල පොල්කිච්චාගේ කැදැල්ල

දෙමලිච්චා – මාර්තු-මැයි (මුල් වතාව) අගෝස්තු – නොවැම්බර් (දෙවැනි)

පොල්කිච්චා : සුවදීම අවුරුද්ද පුරාම සිදුවිය හැකි වුවද මුල් වන්නේ මාර්තු සිට සැප්තැම්බර මාස

ඉන්දු කලුකිච්චා : මාර්තු-සැප්තැම්බර්

බැම සුදු පවන්පෙන්දා : අප්‍රේල්-මැයි

කව්ඩා : පෙබරවාරි – මැයි

පොලොස් කොට්ටෝරුවා: පෙබරවාරි සිට ජූලි (පළමු) අගෝස්තු-සැප්තැම්බර් (දෙවැනි)

රත්-කෑරලා (black-rumped Flameback) : මාර්තු-ජුනි (පළමු) අගෝස්තු-සැප්තැම්බර් (දෙවැනි)

ගේ කුරුල්ලා : වසර පුරාම

ලෝටන් සූටික්කා (Loten’s Sunbird) : පෙබරවාරි-මැයි 

ලාතුඩු පිළිලිච්චා : ජනවාරි-අගෝස්තු

කහ කුරුල්ලා : ඔක්තෝබර්-මැයි

මයිනා: මාර්තු-සැප්තැම්බර්

රෑන ගිරවා: සුවදි සමය නොවැම්බර් සිට ජුනි දක්වා යැයි පොදුවේ සැලකුවත් වසරේ ඕනෑම විටෙක පැටවුන් මෙන්ම සුවැදී හැසිරීම් දැක ගත හැකිවේ

ළයසුදු කොරවක්කා: අප්‍රේල්-අගෝස්තු

බමුණු පියාකුස්සා : ඔක්තෝබර් – අප්‍රේල්

මොණරා : දෙසැම්බර් – මැයි

රත් යටිමල් කිරළා : අප්‍රේල් – අගෝස්තු

අළු කොබෙයියා : සුවැදී සමය අවුරුද්ද මුළුල්ලේම වාගේ පැතිරේ. එහෙත් පෙබරවාරි-ජුනි / අගෝස්තු-සැප්තැම්බර් මුල් තැන් ගනී

නීල මහගොයා : දෙසැම්බර් – මැයි

කොව්ලා : සුවැදී සමය පොදුවේ අප්‍රේල්-අගෝස්තු දක්වා

ඇටි-කුකුළා (Greater Coucal) : සුවැදී සාමය පෙබරවාරි-සැප්තැම්බර් (පළමු) / ඔක්තෝබර් – දෙසැම්බර් (දෙවැනි)

කරපටි කන්බස්සා (Collared scops owl) : පෙබරවාරි-මැයි

ළයසුදු පිළිහුඩුවා : දෙසැම්බර්-ජුනි (මාර්තු/අප්‍රේල් මාස වල සුලබයි)

කොණ්ඩයා : මාර්තු-මැයි  / අගෝස්තු-සැප්තැම්බර්

බට්ටිච්චා: සුවැදී සමය අවුරුද්ද පුරාම පවතී. පෙබරවාරි – මැයි මුල් මාස වේ 

I first observed that a Tailor Bird sleeps on an ornamental plant hanging from upstairs. The bird continues to sleep on this place upto today (i.e.29th June). Tailor bird puffs its feathers and tuck its head under its wing to make its profile hide from potential predator. The bird is undisturbed even anybody goes very close to it. This is published under ‘Biodiversity of Home Garden’ column on Vidusara Science Weekly on 29.05.2019. 

රටෙහි මොන වාතාවරණය තිබුනත්, අපේ ගේ සහ ගෙවත්ත සුපුරුදු පරිදි වෙසක් සැරසිලි වලින් සරසන්නට ලැහැස්ති වුයේ වෙසක් දිනයට සති කිහිපයක සිටමය. වෙසක් පහන් කූඩු කිහිපයක් තනා නිම කර, කොඩි වැලක් තනා, පැරණි විදුලි බුබුළු වැලේ දුහුවිලි පිසදා, වෙසක් දිනයට පෙරදා රාත්‍රියේ ගේ ඉදිරිපස නිරීක්ෂණය කිරීමට එළියට ආවේ මේ සැරසිලි එල්ලන ආකාරයේ දළ සැලැස්මක් ගසා ගැනීමටය.

මෙසේ නිරීක්ෂණය කරන අතරතුර ඉහළ තට්ටුවේ බැල්කනියෙන් පහළට වැටෙන සේ වවා තිබු විසිතුරු මල් වැලේ යම් අමුත්තක් එක් වරම ඇස ගැටුනත් ඒ කිමෙක්දැයි එක් වරම සිතා ගැනීමට නොහැකි විය. කහ පැහැති මල් පිපුණු, පහතට වැටි තිබුණු මේ මල් වැල වෙත වඩාත් ලංවී එය නිරීක්ෂණය කරද්දී, සුදු පැහැයට හුරු බෝලයක් වැනි දෙයක් නිරීක්ෂණය විය. බෝලයේ එක පසෙකින් කුඩා කුරකි. කිසිදු හැල හොල්මනක් නොමැති මේ කුඩා බෝලය කුරුල්ලෙකු වන්නට ඇතැයි මට අනුමාන කිරීමට හැකිවුයේ වසර ගණනාවක් කුරුල්ලන් අධ්‍යනය කර තිබීමේ පළපුරුද්ද නිසාම පමණෙකි.

තවත් ළඟාවී නිරීක්ෂණය කළත්, කුරුල්ලාගේ ඔලුව සොයා ගැනීමට නොහැකි වුයේ එය හොදින් තටු අතර සඟවා ගෙන සිටි නිසාවෙනි. පිහාටු හොදින් පුම්බා ගෙන සිටි නිසා කුරුල්ලෙකුගේ සාමාන්‍ය ප්‍රමාණයට වඩා රවුම් ස්වාභාවයක් ගත් අතර වලිගය පමණක් ශරීරයෙන් ඉවතට කෙළින් විහිදී තිබිණේ කුරුල්ලකු යයි කිසිවෙකුටත් සිතාගත නොහැකි අයුරකිනි.

සුදු පැහැ ශරීරයේ මිශ්‍රවී තිබු කොළ පැහැයත්, ප්‍රමාණයත් උපයෝගී කර ගෙන මේ සිටින්නේ නිදා සිටින බට්ටිච්චේකු (Tailor Bird) බව නිවැරදිව හදුනා ගැනීමට මට තවත් මද වෙලාවක් ගත විය.

ගෙයි ඉදිරිපස ආලින්දයේ ප්‍රධාන විදුලි බුබුල අසලම නිදා සිටි බට්ටිච්චා, පහතින් සිදු කරන අපගේ ක්‍රියාකාරකම් වලට කිසිදු ප්‍රතිචාරයක් නොදක්වා සිටීමට තරම් දක්ෂ විය. වහා කැමරාව ගෙන්වා ගත මා මේ නිදා සිටින බට්ටිච්චාගේ ජායාරූ කිහිපයක් ම ගත්තේ විවිධ කොනයන්ගෙනි. කෙසේ වෙතත් කැමරාවේ විදුලි ආලෝකය නිසා කලබල වනු අත්දෝයි සැකය නිසා flasher නොදල්වා මෙම ජායාරුප ගත නමුත්, කුරුල්ලා නම් කලබලයක් නොපෙන්විය.

පසුදා – මැයි 18  වෙසක් දා උදෑසන 7ට පමණ නිරීක්ෂණයේදී බට්ටිච්චා ඒ වනවිටත් නිදි ගැට කඩා, තම යහනෙන් නික්ම ගොස් තිබිණි. සමහර කවි, ගීත වල ‘මල් යහනක’  සතපන බව කාව්‍යමය අර්ථයෙන් පැවසෙතෙත් මේ බට්ටිච්චා නම් සැබවින්ම සිටියේ ‘මල් යහනක’ බව පෙනුනේ කුරුල්ලා සිටි කහ පැහැ මලින් බර මල් වැල උදෑසන දී දුටු විටදීය. තවත් වෙසක් සැරසිලි කිහිපයක් ම සැකසීමට දහවල කල් ගත වුනු අතර, ඒවා එල්ලිමටත්, විදුලි බුබුළු වැල් වලින් ගෙවත්ත ආලෝකමත් කිරීමටත් පහතට බැස්සේ රාත්‍රී 6.45 පමණ දීය. මේ වනවිටත් බට්ටිච්චා තම පුරුදු නවාතැනට පැමිණ සිටි අතර, වෙසක් සැරසිලි කිරීමේදී කලබල වී ඉගිල යාවී දොයි සැක සිතුනත් කුරුල්ලා ඒ පිළිබද එතරම් තැකීමක් නොකර නිසොල්මනේ බලා හිදිම මගේ සැනසුමට කාරණයක් විය. ඉහළ තට්ටුවේ සිට ගෙවත්ත දක්වා ඇදුනු විදුලි බුබුළු වැල ක්‍රියාත්මක කල විට, නොයෙක වර්ණයෙන් නිවී නිවී වැටෙන ඒ විදුලි බුබුළු දෙස මේ බට්ටිච්චා මද වෙලාවක් බලා සිටියේ වෙසක් සිරිය නරඹනවා මෙනි.

The location this bird sleep is encircled

රාත්‍රියේදී මොර සූරන වැස්සක් වැටුනේ තද සුළඟකුත් සමගය. කුරුල්ලා සිටි මල් වැල තදින් නොතෙමුන ද සුළඟ සමග එන වැහි පොද ඒ මත පතිත වූ අතර සුළඟට බට්ටිච්චා සිටි මල් වැල තදින් පැද්දීමට ලක්වුවද කුරුල්ලා එතනින් ඉවත් වුයේ නැත.

වෙසක් දිනට පසු දිනත් මේ බට්ටිච්චා එනු ඇත්දැයි මා සවස 6.15 පමණ සිට සෙවිල්ලෙන් සිටි අතර, කුරුල්ලා 6.30ට පමණ පැමිණ සිටිනු නිරීක්ෂණය කලෙමි. ටික වෙලාවක් නිසොල්මනේ හිඳ, ඉන්පසු ඔලුව උරපතේ හංගා ගෙන නිසොල්මන්ව නිදා ගන්නට ගියේ 6.40 ට පමණ වේ. මැයි 17 සිට මෙම ලිපිය ලියන මැයි 26 වැනි ඉරිදා ද  ද බට්ටිච්චා එකම තැන ලැගුම් ගනු නිරීක්ෂණය කෙරිණි.

මේ බට්ටිච්චා නිදා සිටි මල් වැල තිබුනේ අපි හැවොම නිතර ම එහා මෙහා යන විවෘත ස්ථානයකය. ඉස්තෝප්පු වේ තිබුණු ප්‍රධාන විදුලි බුබුල ට අඩියක තරම් ආසන්නයෙන් තිබූ වැලම තෝරාගෙන තිබු අතර, සැර ආලෝකයක් ඇති මේ විදුලි බුබුල නිවන / දල්වන විටදී ද බට්ටිච්චා කිසිදු කලබලයක් නොපෙන්විය (මේ හේතුව නිසාම පසුව මේ බට්ටිච්චාගේ ජයාරූප කිහිපයක් කැමරාවේ Flasher .ආලෝකය භාවිතයෙන් පසුව දුරින්  සිට ගන්නා ලද්දේ කුරුල්ලා සිටි ඉරියව් හොඳින් සටහන් කර ගැනීමටය.)

ඉතින් මෙවැනි අනාරක්ෂිත යැයි බැලු බැල්මට පෙනෙන මෙවැනි තැනක් රාත්‍රී නවාතැන ලෙස තෝරා ගැනීමට නුවණට හුරු නොවේයැයි ඔබට සිතෙනු ඇත. මේ කුරුල්ලන් ට සිටින ප්‍රධාන විලොපිකයකු වනුයේ බළලා වැනි සතුන්ය. උඩ සිට එල්ලෙන සිහින් මල් වැලක් නිසා, බළලුන් ගෙන් මේ තැන ආරක්ෂිතවේ. උකුස්සා වැනි ගොදුරු කුරුල්ලන් රාත්‍රියේදී නැති අතර, මේ ප්‍රදේශයේ දක්නට ලැබෙන කුඩා බස්සන් වර්ග වලින් කුරුල්ලන් ට තර්ජනයක් නැත. ඊටත් වඩා, නිසොල්මන් ව හිස තටු අතර සගවා ගෙන සිටින ඉරියව්ව නිසා කොහොමටත් මේ ඉන්නේ කුරුල්ලකු බව සොයා ගැනීමට අපහසුය. අනිත් පැත්තෙන් බැලුවහොත්,  මෙම මල් වැලට අවට පරිසරයම හොදින් දිස්වෙන නිසා අවශ්‍ය වුවහොත් අවට නිරීක්ෂණයට කුරුල්ලාට අවස්ථාව ලබා දෙයි.

නිදා සිටින බට්ටිච්චන් පිළිබද අන්තර්ජාලයේ කළ සේවිමකදී මා දුටුවේ සිංගප්පුරුව, ඉන්දියාව වැනි බට්ටිච්චන් සිටින රටවල කුරුළු ලෝලීන් ද ඉඳ හිට මෙවැනි සමාන අත්දැකීම් විද ඇති බවයි.

මේ මා විසින් නිදා ගෙන සිටිනා බට්ටිච්චකු ගෙවත්තේදී දුටු දෙවැනි අවස්ථාව වේ. පළවෙනි අවස්ථාව මිට වසර ගනනාවකට පෙර අත්දැකීමක් වන අතර ඒ හබරල පලයක පත්‍රයක නිදා සිටි ඒ බට්ටිච්චා දුටුවේ මා මොකක් දෝ හේතුවකට ඒ හබරල පැලය ඇල්ලීමට යාමේ දිය. මිට අමතරව රාත්‍රියේ නවාතැන් ගත් සුදු රෙදි හොරා (අසියා  සුදු රැහැන් මාරා), දෙමලිච්චන් සහ පොල්කිච්චන් ගෙවත්තේ දී නිරීක්ෂණය වී තිබේ.

ඉතින් බලන්න ඔබට මෙවන් අත්දැකීමක් කුරුල්ලන් බැලීමට වෙනත් පරිසර පද්දධතියකට චාරිකාවක දී ලබා ගත හැකි වෙතැයි ඔබ සිතනවා ද..? සිංහරාජය වැනි වනාන්තරයක දී ඔබට දුර්ලභ කුරුල්ලන් දැක ගත හැකි වනු ඇත. බුන්දල වැනි තෙත් බිමකදී දහස් ගණන් කුරුල්ලන් බලා ගත හැකි වනු ඇත. එහෙත් ගෙවත්තත් ඒ හා සමානම සිත්ගන්නා සුළු, අපුර්ව මෙවැනි සිදුවීම් වලින් බහුලය. ඔබත් මබ අවට ගෙවත්තේ ජෛව විවිධත්වය නිරීක්ෂණයට පුරුදු වන්න. විශේෂිත සිදුවීමක් නම් අප වෙත ලියා එවන්න.

වෙසක් දා සිට කළ කළ අහඹු නිරීක්ෂණයන් ගෙන් තහවුරු වුයේ සවස 6.40 ට මේ බට්ටිච්චා සාමාන්‍යයෙන් නිදන්නට යන බවය. මෙසේ රාත්‍රිය ගත කොට මේ බට්ටිච්චා උදෑසන නික්ම යන වෙලාව සොයා ගැනීමට ද ඇති වු කුකුස නිසා මැයි 26 ඉරිදා උදයේ 5 සිට නිරීක්ෂණය කළෙමි. එහිදී නිරීක්ෂණය අනුව බට්ටිච්චා තම නවතනෙන් ඉගිලී ගියේ හරියටම අලුයම 5.40 ටය. අවදි වූ වහාම ඉදිරියේ වූ ගස් ගොන්න වෙත පියඹා ගියේය.

මයි 26 දා සවස නැවතත් මෙම බට්ට්ටිච්ච නිරීක්ෂණයට සවස 6.20 වනවිට යද්දී, කුරුල්ලා ඒ වනවිටත් තම රාත්‍රී නවාතැන වෙත් ඇවිත් සිටියේය. තම පිහාටු පිරිමදිමින් වට පිට බලමින් 6.30 පමණ තෙක් කල් වැරූ බට්ටිච්චා ගේ ජායාරූප නිරීක්ෂණයේදී පෙනී ගියේ පිරිමදීමෙන් සෙමින් සෙමින් ශරීරයේ ම පිහාටු පුම්බා ගනිමින් සිටින අයුරුයි. කෙසේ වෙතත් බට්ටිච්චා තම හිස සඟවා ගෙන පුර්ණ නින්දකට වැටුනේ 6.40 ට ආසන්නයේ දීම ය.

Tailor bird (c) Hari Namasivayam

කුරුල්ලෝ නිදා ගන්නවා ද..?

කුරුල්ලන් ද අනිත් බොහෝ සතුන් මෙන් නිදා ගන්නා නමුත්, එය අපි නිදා ගන්නවා ට වඩා සංකීර්ණ ක්‍රියාවලියකි. විලෝපිකයන් ගෙන් ආරක්ෂා වීම පිණිස සැමවිටම විමසිලිමත් වීම වැදගත්වේ. එනිසා කුරුල්ලන් ට කෙටි නින්ද ඇති බව ත්  එසේම සමහර කුරුල්ලන් ගේ මොලයේ එක් පසක් අවධියෙන් තබා අනිත් පස නින්දට යැවිමේ අපුරු හැකියාවක් තිබෙන බව ත් සදහන් වේ (ඉක්මනින් ඇහැරී ක්‍රියාකාරී වියහැකි ලෙස නිදා ගන්නා විට ‘කුකුළ් නීන්ද’ ලෙස හැදින්වීම නිසි ලෙසම ගැලපෙන යෙදුමක් වන්නේ එහෙයිනි). මෙය unihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) ලෙස හැදින වෙන අතර සමහර නිහැරී කුරුල්ලෝ දිගු සංචරණයකදී ගුවනේ පියා හඹා යද්දී ම මෙසේ කිරීමේ හැකියාව තිබේ යැයි සොයා ගෙන ඇත.

නින්දේදී කුරුල්ලන්ගේ ග්‍රහණය ගිලිහි බිමට නොවටෙදැයි තවත් ප්‍රශ්ණයකි. ශරීරයේ බරත් සමග කකුලේ පේශීන් හොදින් හිර කර ගැනීමේ හැකියාව කුරුල්ලන්ට ඇති නිසා නින්දේදී නොවැටී සිටීමට ඔවුන්ට පිළිවන. එසේම ගිරවුන් වැනි සමහර කුරුල්ලන් යටි අතට නිදා ගන්නා අතර, ඔවුන් තම නිය වලින් නොවෙටෙන සේ යමක එල්ලී සිටි.

Published on SundayTimes on 14.04.2019 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190414/news/tiny-orchid-with-the-name-of-a-giant-345337.html

April is the month of flowers and there is no better time to announce that a newly-discovered orchid named Pteroceras dalaputtuwa in memory of the iconic tusker, Galgamuwa Dala Puttuwa, tragically killed for its tusks, has been added to the list of flowers endemic to Sri Lanka. The tiny Dalaputtuwa orchid is a partially opened flower about 10mm long and 5mm wide, with short, yellowish petals and an elongated rectangular-oval hollow extension called a spur. It was discovered in 2014 during a floristic survey and after periodic observations, researchers found that it flowers from late June to September.

The plant has long roots that can grow upto 14-22cm to attach themselves to tall forest trees, usually of the Dipterocarpus family (hora trees). Dalaputtuwa is believed to be restricted to Kudawa forest reserve in Ratnapura where researchers have found only about 20 plants. This puts it on the Critically Endangered list.

Although the Dalaputtuwa orchid closely resembles an orchid native to the Philippines, Sri Lankan researchers have, after thorough analysis, established it as an orchid unique and endemic to Sri Lanka. Their study has been published in the peer-reviewed botanical journal, Phytotaxa, with the authors’ names given as Tharaka Priyadarshana, Anusha Atthanagoda, Ishara Wijewardhane, Kawshalya Siriweera, Nimantha Aberathna, and Pankaj Kumar.

Earlier in their survey, the researchers discovered another new orchid species. This flower, named Oberonia meegaskumburae or fairy orchid, which was found in the Samanala Nature Reserve, along the Kuruwita-Erathna footpath.

Describing the Dalaputtuwa discovery, the researcher said, “This could be the first time in the history of plant nomenclature that a new species has been named after an elephant”. The tusker, Galgamuwa Dala Puttuwa, was killed by poachers in 2017 for its renowned long, entwined tusks.

Lead researcher Tharaka Priyadarshana said he and his colleagues chose the tusker’s name for the new orchid to attract wider public and government interest in improved conservation policies to protect
Sri Lanka’s biodiversity.

The new orchid’s generic name, Pteroceras, is derived from the Greek “pteron” and “keras”, which mean wing and horn respectively, referring to the two narrow and wing-like appendages at the base. This is a small group of orchids comprising 21 species in several countries. In Sri Lanka so far, only one species of Pteroceras is known, but  Pteroceras viridiflorum is also known mainly from drawings. As this orchid was not observed for the past 150 years, it was categorised as ‘Possibly Extinct’; however, recent floristic surveys conducted by the same researchers led to the rediscovery of Pteroceras viridiflorum.

Orchids form one of the largest flower families in Sri Lanka, with 191 known species, 58 of them endemic to the country.

They are threatened by habitat destruction and direct exploitation, with people collecting wild orchids for use as ornamental plants. Orchids are also sensitive to environmental changes such as moisture levels, so climate change and pollution also threaten their survival.

Published on SundayTimes on 31.03.2019 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190331/news/is-it-a-bear-a-monkey-or-sri-lankas-own-hobbit-343247.html

Purported encounters with Nittaewo, the legendary dwarf men of Sri Lanka, have emerged from different parts of the country over the past few weeks but experts say these sightings are dubious.

The latest incident was reported from Thotamuna, Matara on March 18, with a villager claiming he had been assaulted by a group of dwarf men. Others also claimed to have seen these men, one describing them as having long claws, long ears and hairy bodies.

Similar accounts have come from Ampara, Kuliyapitiya, Anuradhapura and Walasmulla. In the Anuradhapura incident, a woman in Mahavilachchiya said she had been attacked by a dwarf man early morning on her doorstep. Her neighbour too came forward, sharing a similar incident that had allegedly taken place a few days previously.

A chain effect of Nittaewo sightings was triggered by chena farmers in Ampara. One farmer in Ampara said he had seen a mysterious dwarf man squatting in his chena. When he hurriedly called to the neighbouring farmer the dwarf had run away. It had a reddish mouth and hairy body, the farmer said. After TV stations aired the story, Nittaewo stories went viral on social media and more sightings emerged.

”Imaginary drawing of hairy hominids eviscerating a fallen Veddah with their hands”. By P.E.P. Deraniyagala, from Loris, June 1964

According to legend, Nittaewo are an extinct race of man-like beings in dwarf form, the male being about three feet tall, covered with fur and having talon-like nails. Nittaewo lived in small tribes and were said to steal meat from  veddahs and to attack solitary veddahs.

It is said the Nittaewo’s last refuge was in the Lenama mountains in Ampara in the Eastern Province, where angry veddahs chased them into a cave and lit a fire that blocked the cave’s entrance, resulting in their extermination. A team from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura probed the recent claims. “We investigated a few cases where people claimed to have seen Nittaewo recently but none of these were actual sightings of Nittaewo,” Professor Yasanjali Jayathilaka said.

“Even though the Nittaewo legend is real, it is unlikely that such a primitive creature could survive this long, hiding from humans, especially in populated areas,” she added.

The Nittaewo was first reported by British civil servant Hugh Nevill in 1886. He could not find anyone who had actually seen a Nittaewo but gathered stories from Mudaliar de Zylva and veddahs of the area for an article published in the journal the Taprobanian.

The name, Nittaewo, probably came from Niya-athi or Niyapothu-aya – those having long nails. There is no hard evidence such as fossil remains or skeletons to establish the existence of Nittaewo.

Zoo-archaeologist Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, suggests that those reported at Lenama could be actually men who had gone wild. “In those days, villagers were isolated in jungles, so there could be inbreeding that could result in genetic mutated children. Such odd-looking ones were often cast out from villages and could have formed alliances with other similar outcasts, developing savage behaviour,” Mr. Manamendra-Arachchi said.

“However, recently in 2004 a very small human species classified as Homo floreseinsis – dubbed The Hobbit – was discovered, so we cannot completely rule out the Nittaewo as pure legend,” he pointed out.

Homo floresiensis lived on the Indonesian island of Flores until as recently as 54,000 years ago, according to scientists.

[Pradeep A. Jayatunga is another scholar who studied Nittaewo legend in details. He compiled the findings to a booklet titled ‘Nittaewo – the Hobbits of Sri Lanka’’ that was published in 2010. In his book, he describes the possibilities of what could given life to the Nittaewo legend and listed different theories. In most of the tales the Nittaewo appear as mysterious creatures with a combination of human and animal characteristics. This combination has given rise to a variety of vastly different candidates (from stump-tailed monkeys to an outcaste clan of humans) for the origin of the legend, Mr.Jayatunga wrote.

Some explorers like Dr.R.L.Spittle claims that Nittaewo could be infact a more savaged race of brown bear that believed to be lived in these areas of Sri Lanka. “Taking in to consideration the Nittaewo’s two supposedly outstanding characteristics of hairy bodies and long nails along with the ‘monkey chatter’ and ‘brutish noises’ of the original legend, Spittel rejects the Negritos or hominids (having no long nails or hairy bodies) and apes (having no long nails) as contenders, and suggests the sloth bear (or perhaps the extinct brown bear- Rahu walaha) as the best candidate” Mr.Jayatunga record what Spittle suggested in his book.

The rocky jungles of Lenama was an ideal area for bear that was having the habit of taking shelter in caves. The ‘monkey chatter’ and ‘brutish noises’ suggest the twittering the bears make while nibbling fore paws and the suction sound emitted while extricating larvae from anthills. They often go in groups- female carrying the young on her back, they are not averse to flesh and are great tree climbers.

According to Jayatunga, the early writer Hugh Nevill received his information from Ampara Mudaliar de Zylva who had given the most prevalent story of Nittaewo today. But when he queried it from one of his informant veddah, the veddah too said the Sinhalese got confused and it could be a misidentity of bear known as Rahu Walaha.

However, the legend of Nittaewo had been originated by Veddah, who are very good at identifying animals in jungle. So could they make a mistaken identity failing to separate a bear from a human form – others argue. So the Nittaewo legend still remains a mystery. Mr.Jayatunga concludes that the legend of the Nittaewo, though limited in sources and lacking eye-witnesses, still has qualities which make it worthy of research. However, careless attributing of anything unexplained to Nittaewo would not make any justification to the legend, experts say urging people to act more logically.]

Further reads http://serendib.btoptions.lk/article.php?issue=70&id=1716

Published on Mongabay 20.June.2019 https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/deadlier-than-guns-explosive-bait-haunts-sri-lankas-elephants/

Elephant calf with a damaged mouth trying to drink water (c) courtesy Department of Wildlife Conservation.

• Explosive devices concealed in bait for bushmeat hunting have overtaken gunshot injuries as the primary cause of elephant deaths in Sri Lanka since last year.
• These devices, known as “jaw exploders,” are aimed primarily at wild boar, but are increasingly maiming and killing elephants, particularly in the island’s northcentral and eastern regions.
• The explosives cause horrific injuries, shattering the jaw and destroying soft tissue inside the mouth, leading ultimately to a slow and painful death from infection.
• One in five recorded elephant deaths last year were due to these devices, with most of the victims juvenile elephants under the age of 10.

Elephants in Minneriya (c) Rajiv Welikala

KURUNEGALA, Sri Lanka — Residents of the farming village of Irudeniyagama in Sri Lanka’s North Western province were taken by surprise last week when they saw a wild elephant calf trying to enter a house. They gave chase, but instead of returning to the nearby forest, the calf next tried to find shelter inside another house.

A closer look showed that the calf’s mouth was split open and all its teeth shattered. It had an infected wound with pus oozing from it.

The injury was caused by an improvised explosive device hidden in fodder bait used by villagers to hunt animals. Known locally as hakka patas, or “jaw exploder,” these devices are a combination of gunpowder and fragments of metal or rock packed tightly together. When bitten into or crushed inside an animal’s mouth, they explode, shattering the jaw and destroying the tongue and other soft tissue. The resulting infection can spread down through the esophagus, often leading to extremely painful deaths.

Leading cause of death

It’s meant to be a method of killing wild boars, a popular yet illegal bushmeat, and other game animals, but has contributed significantly to Sri Lanka’s increasing elephant deaths.

“Unable to eat or drink, the victimized elephants gradually become weak and unable to follow the herd. They are soon left behind. If there is a water hole nearby, they take refuge in them or, in cases like Irudeniyagama, elephants would come closer to human settlements,” said Isuru Hewakottage, a veterinary surgeon overseeing operations for the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) in North Western province.

Of the 319 total elephant deaths recorded in 2018, 64 were caused by these explosive devices, or 20 percent, according to U. L. Taufeek, head of the DWC’s elephant conservation unit. That’s higher than the 53 elephants killed last year from gunshot injuries, previously the leading cause of elephant deaths in Sri Lanka. So far this year, 30 elephant deaths have been attributed to these explosives. The island is home to fewer than 6,000 Sri Lankan elephants (Elephas maximus maximus), a subspecies of the Asian elephant.

“Often, it is the young elephants below 10 years of age that get killed. The majority of the victims are elephant calves under 5 years of age,” Hewakottage told Mongabay.

“The young calves are both curious and playful. They also pick things and insert into their mouths, unlike the more wary adult elephants. Perhaps the younger beasts are able to see objects much closer as they have not yet grown to their full height. But adult elephants could be more discerning and able to detect the smell of gunpowder,” Hewakottage added.

Tharaka Prasad, the DWC’s veterinary chief, said it was “nearly impossible” to treat the severe damage done by these devices.

“In most cases, it is only possible to reduce the pain associated with their inevitable death,” he said. “Only a handful survive these explosive devices.”

Use of these improvised explosive devices targeting game animals was first reported in 2008 from the island’s east, but has since rapidly spread to other parts of Sri Lanka.

“Using explosives to kill animals is illegal,” environmental lawyer Jagath Gunawardanetold Mongabay. “Sri Lanka’s Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance as well as the Explosives Ordinance contain specific provisions to deal with offenders.”

But actual enforcement is difficult, said Chandana Sooriyabandara, the DWC director-general.

“When an animal is killed using a firearm or by poisoning, poachers leave some trace that can aid detection. But in the case of these explosive devices, it is extremely difficult to trace the source,” he said, adding that any telltale signs can be concealed or disposed of.

Prithviraj Fernando, an elephant researcher and head of the Center for Conservation Research-Sri Lanka (CCRSL), told Mongabay that the problem needed to be addressed from both conservation and anti-poaching angles. “The best solution is to increase peer pressure to discourage poaching employing this barbaric method,” he said.

Many of the places where these explosive devices are used to hunt animals are also sites where human-elephant conflicts occur, with the hotspots being the island’s rice-growing heartland in the north-central and eastern regions.

Yet, despite instances of elephants destroying their crops, villagers have tended to demonstrate compassion and assist in elephant rescues and in treating the injured. Elephants enjoy a religious and cultural significance in Sri Lanka, but not everyone views the animals that way.

The DWC’s Sooriyabandara said sometimes the explosive bait is laid out specifically to target elephants seen as a nuisance to villagers. “It’s not all accidental. When a villager is killed or crops are damaged by elephants, outraged villagers often use these devices,” he said.

To mitigate the impact of the explosives on the island’s elephant population, conservation researcher Fernando said the villagers needed to be made aware of how much suffering they cause the elephants before they die. “Awareness is key. We need to encourage villagers to desist from using explosive devices,” he said.

Wildlife authorities are already working with conservation-focused organizations to spread the word and win public support, said Sooriyabandara. One such group is the Colombo-based Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), which hosts a series of dialogues to create awareness in human-elephant conflict hotspots.

Using videos and photographs, CEJ members highlight the agony of elephants maimed by the explosive devices, as well as the need to minimize conflict through better wildlife conservation methods.

“We work more with children and community leaders who can play a critical role in creating awareness,” said CEJ executive director Hemantha Withanage.

He added that the problem was no longer just a grassroots one. “There is a danger of illegal manufacturing of these explosives at a commercial scale, and this may result in more elephant deaths in the future,” Withanage said, adding that there was a consistent increase in elephant deaths due to the use of explosives.

The root of the problem is the bushmeat trade, elephant biologist Manori Gunawardena told Mongabay.

”To prevent increasing elephant deaths due to the use of improvised explosive devices, it is necessary to curb and control the illegal bushmeat trade,” she said. “People should be made aware of the consequences to the wild.”

Banner image of an elephant herd in Minneriya, in Sri Lanka’s North Western province, courtesy of Rajiv Welikala.

Sri Lanka needs to understand how critical the resources of the ocean are to an island nation’s security and end its centuries’-old apathy about protecting its maritime base, leading scientists told a conference.

The state-of-the-art Control room of the Norwegian research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen

“As an island nation, the resources of the ocean are very important for development and changes to ocean patterns can bring bad impacts. Sri Lanka needs to put more effort into developing understanding of the oceans around us through scientific research,” Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) General Manager Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara said.

Culturally and historically, society had been detached from the ocean and the education system needed to bridge this gap.

“We haven’t realised the importance of coastal zones. For example, most often the cemeteries of villages along the coastal belt are set up adjacent to beaches, proving that, traditionally, Sri Lankan society hasn’t realised the importance of ocean and related ecosystems,” Dr. Pradeep Kumara said.

His comments were made on Ocean Science Day, marked on June 27, organised by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, which is composed of 150 member states, including Sri Lanka.

The head of the IOC’s Ocean Science Section, Dr. Arico Salvatore, said Ocean Science Day – now in its second year – was established to demonstrate that ocean science aids societal goals.

Dr. Salvatore emphasised that countries such as Sri Lanka can benefit greatly from ocean science, particularly with ocean-based weather predictions that allow more effective planning of agricultural and fisheries operations.

“The tsunami warning system is a clear example how the application of ocean science can be used to save lives,” he added.

Ruhuna University’s Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science students conduct research on board Dr. Fridtjof Nansen

Sri Lanka and adjacent countries benefit from the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System set up under the IOC’s leadership. At the time Sri Lanka was hit by the deadly tsunami of 2004, the Indian ocean region lacked a tsunami monitoring system. The late Professor Samantha Hettiarachchi was a major contributor to the success of the warning system, which began working in 2006.

“Sri Lanka has a lot of talent that will create champions in the field of ocean science. We are lagging behind in this field so we need to focus on a program to train more scientists in ocean science,” said Dr. Pradeep Kumara, a former head of the Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology at the University of Ruhuna.

Ocean science has evolved rapidly in recent years in response to growing international interest in ocean use, climate change, environmental protection and the conservation of ocean resources, and Sri Lanka needs to ride on this bandwagon and not get left behind, he said.

Dr. Upul Premaratne, Dr Pradeep Kumara’s successor at the university, said the faculty worked hard at producing quality graduates and it was important that job opportunities be created for them to prevent them going abroad where there was high demand – particularly in developed countries – for experts in ocean science and fisheries.

Another University of Ruhuna expert, Senior Professor Ruchira Cumaranatunga stressed the need for more resources. “We need a full-fledged research vessel that can continuously monitor the ocean around our country without us depending on other countries,” he pointed out.

Developed nations such as Norway have been showing Sri Lanka how to use modern technology in fisheries and other ocean sciences. Twenty Sri Lankan scientists were given the opportunity to sail on the Norwegian research vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, which recently surveyed the ocean around Sri Lanka, assessing fish stocks and ecosystems.

The trip provided a novel experience for Sri Lankan scientists to familiarise themselves with the latest technologies, National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA)  scientist Dr. Prabath Jayasinghe, said.

Published on 14.07.2019 on SundayTimes http://www.sundaytimes.lk/190714/news/create-ocean-science-champions-to-boost-nations-security-358269.html