Sri Lanka - Land With Rich Biodiversity

Wild life of Sri Lanka comprises to its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. As a country with high rate of biological endemism (16% of fauna and 23% of flowering plants are endemic) in the world even though its relatively small. Sri Lanka is ranked among world’s top twenty five biodiversity hot spots.

Sri Lanka is ranked one of the best places for watch Elephants, Leopards, Dolphins & Blue whales.

The mountains and the southwest part of the country known as the “Wet Zone “ with an average rainfall figure of 2500mm. Most of the southeast, east, and northern part of the country belong to “Dry Zone” with an average rainfall figure of 1200 – 1900mm.

Fauna.

Mammals

Sri Lanka is home to roughly 91 species of mammals, 41 of which are endangered. Out of this 91 species 16 are endemic and 14 are endangered including Sloth Bear, Sri Lankan Leopard, Elephant and Sambar.  Sri Lanka’s surrounding waters home to 26 species of sea mammals.

Reptiles.

In Sri Lanka currently 171 reptile species have recorded. Out of this 101 are endemic species and 56 are endangered including Mugger Crocodile and Saltwater Crocodile.

Amphibians.

Sri Lanka has one of the richest diversity of amphibians in the world, comprising over 106 species (90 endemic) and has been claimed to have the highest amphibian density in the world. Out of 106 species 52 are endangered.

Birds.

Sri Lanka is home to 482 bird species which includes endemic, resident and migrant birds. Out of 482 there are 33 endemic bird species in Sri Lanka.

Fish

In Sri Lanka there are 82 freshwater fish species have recorded, of which 28 are threatened.

Butterflies.

Sri Lanka is home to 245 butterfly species, of which 24 are endemic species.

Scorpions.

There are 18 species of scorpions which are found in Sri Lanka. Out of this 18 species 7 are endemic to Sri Lanka.

Flora.

There are 3,210 flowering plants fitting to 1,052 classes. 916 species and 18 classes are endemic to the island. Additionally, all but one of the island’s more than 55 tropical low land rain forest trees are confined to Sri Lanka. Wet zone which accounts for only a quarter of Sri Lanka’s land area, harbors 88 percent of the flowering plants, and 95 percent of country's flowering plant endemics. The natural forests of Sri Lanka are categorized into eight types.