The Fauna of Sri Lanka

This tropical paradise of ours is rich its fauna. The myriads of insects that creep, crawl and fly , the thousands of reptiles that creep in the jungle and water, the quadrupeds that stampede across the jungle and the flocks of birds that perch on the branches of trees are Sri Lanka's treasure. The centipede, the scorpion, the ants of various hues and venom, the snakes from the viper and the cobra to the mighty python and the iguanas inhabit in lower sections of the terrain.

The graceful deer, the mighty elephants, sambur, elk, moose, deer, leopard, porcupine, pangolin, ant-eater, wild-boar, weasel, scores of other quadrupeds are the delights of tourists who often see them in their natural habitats and yala and other sanctuaries.

Above this layer of beautiful wild life, we have the more beautiful multi-colored feathered species, the birds. The proud peacock, the King fisher, the wood-pecker, the teal, snipe, parrot, pigeon and hundreds of colored varieties make sanctuaries like kumana, a birds paradise.

The fauna of Sri Lanka are certainly a treasure that brings in a lot of foreign exchange because tourist come here to see them and they pay well for it. We should preserve our flora to keep our fauna alive and happy. The only danger to them is from the poacher who kills them for their flesh, skin and heads.