Clik here to view.
Rare bottom-dweller is a vulnerable fish
‘Why humans are so cruel..?’ could it be Shark Ray’s last thoughts..? In the animal kingdom, there are species that look alike, or ‘hybrids’, between two or more creatures. Marine creatures with such...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Koha’s call overseas comes from another species
Singer of the Avurudu song – the Male Asian Koel (c) Udara Samaraweera The Koha or Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is considered the harbinger of Sinhala and Tamil New Year for its beautiful song...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Another dugong butchered in Mannar
Can giving incentives for abandoning illegal fishing methods save dugongs and other threatened marine life..? Caught red-handed – Dugong meat found in the 3 wheeler with the culprit Two people who...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Red light for spearfishing
Following continuing action by activists and reports in media including the Sunday Times, the government has banned spearfishing. The gazette notice last month says: “No person shall engage in any...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Urban excitement over barn owls
Kirulapana Barn owl showing its beauty (c) Shantha Jayaweera The barn owl is a rare bird in Sri Lanka categorized as ‘near threatened’ in the 2012 National Red List, but it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Enjoying the nature at backyard on Earth Day 2017
Today is #EarthDay2017 and the theme this year is “Environmental & Climate Literacy”. I had a little field visit with my little ‘birding colleague’ who had her first experience of millipedes. She...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Real Sal blooms thrive despite the ‘cannon ball’
In full bloom: The real Sal flower at the botanical gardens, Peradeniya. Pic courtesy Peradeniya Gardens The flower with pinkish fleshy petals and strong fragrance regarded as ‘sal’ is a favourite...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gentle marine giant stays more on our waters
A whale shark seen with a swimmer off Colombo. Pic courtesy Nishan Perera As the sightings of whale sharks increase in our waters, experts say the world’s largest fish needs to be protected. “We still...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Declining loris populations risk lives on power lines
The rescued loris. Pic by Tharindi Pathirana As tall trees in urban gardens become rarer, the loris appears to find electric wires an alternative way to move around. But many end up being...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fading fortunes of the native Vesak flower
A species of orchid that blooms in May and commonly called Vesak mal is becoming rarer. Plant experts say habitat loss and over collection from the wild are causing its decline. The Vesak orchid. Pix...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ocean-going jumbos possibly disoriented
Wildlife experts have not been able to adequately explain why a few elephants had been sighted in distress in the oceans closer to shore in the east and even in the deep seas. Some suspect they had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fishing net may have killed dugong and calf
Wildlife offcials suspect that the carcass of a female dugong found afloat in the northern seas off Mollikulam on Thursday July 27 with a new-born calf may have been drowned after being trapped in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Living with landslides: Community-based programme teaches combat techniques
As landslide deaths become increasingly regular in Sri Lanka during heavy rains, a community-based science programme offers a life-saving mechanism. Getting to know about an imminent landslide even a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nandikadal lagoon fish perished without oxygen, says NARA
Published on SundayTimes on 11.06.2017 – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170611/news/nandikadal-lagoon-fish-perished-without-oxygen-says-nara-244783.html Thousands of fish seen floating in the Nandikadal and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sinharaja elephant attacks raise villager fury
Published on SundayTimes on 28.05.2017 – http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170528/news/sinharaja-elephant-attacks-raise-villager-fury-242684.html Sri Lanka’s biodiversity hotspot, Sinharaja, is home to two...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sampur pilot whales stranding will remain a mystery
Published on SundayTimes on 04.06.2017 http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170604/news/sampur-pilot-whales-stranding-will-remain-a-mystery-243484.html A pod of about 20 pilot whales stranded on Sampur beach in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Roadkill leads to discovery of burrowing snake
A new burrowing snake was added to the list of species endemic to Sri Lanka when International Day of Biological Diversity was marked on Monday, strengthening the country’s image as a biodiversity...
View ArticleClik here to view.
They are marine eels, not sea snakes
Reports that swarms of what were initially mistakenly identified as venomous sea snakes had got caught in fishing nets in the east coast, had many puzzled and others worried with rumours spreading of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
විදිමින් පරිසරය, අරඹමු නව වසර කුරුලු ගී සමගින්
WISH YOU ALL A NATUREFUL NEW YEAR..!!! Today is the last day of year 2017. I couldn’t write as much I wanted in year 2017; but managed to compile a weekly column for Vidusara titled ‘ගෙවත්තේ ජෛව...
View ArticleClik here to view.
අරඹමු නව වසර, සිටුවා පැළයක් ගෙවත්තේ
ලැබූ 2018 වසර නම් කර තිබෙන්නේ ආහාර නිෂ්පාදනයේ වසර ලෙසයි. ජලය, වාතය මෙන් ම ආහාර අප ගේ මූලික අවශ්යතාවක් වුවත් ආහාර නිෂ්පාදනයේ අඩුව, නිපදවූ ආහාරවල ගුණාත්මකභාවය, අනවශ්යය ලෙස කෘෂි රසායන යෙදීම වැනි කරුණු...
View Article