Wildlife of
Sri Lanka

Primary Threats

• Wet-zone lowland rainforest and intermediate-zone habitats have been heavily fragmented by historical plantation agriculture (tea/rubber) and ongoing conversion to settlements and smallholder farming. In the dry zone, forest edges are eroded by encroachment and land conversion, shrinking and isolating elephant range and pushing wildlife into human-dominated mosaics.
• Expansion and intensification of paddy cultivation, shifting cultivation, and other irrigated agriculture around dry-zone reserves (notably in the North Central and Eastern regions) increases forest clearing, fence-line conflicts, and reliance on irrigation networks that alter natural water regimes.
• Human-elephant conflict is one of the country's most acute conservation issues: elephants raid crops and move through settlements along traditional corridors now blocked by development, leading to injuries and deaths of both people and elephants (often via electrocution, gunshot, or poisoning). Leopard conflict occurs locally through livestock depredation and retaliatory killing, especially near forest-agriculture interfaces.
• Road upgrading, settlement expansion, irrigation schemes, and other linear infrastructure fragment habitats and disrupt movement corridors (particularly for elephants). Unplanned development near protected-area boundaries increases edge effects, vehicle collisions, and access for illegal activities.
• Illegal capture and trade affect a range of taxa: reptiles and amphibians for the pet trade, certain birds, and marine species; and illegal collection/harvest of protected plants and invertebrates in some areas. Trafficking pressure is amplified by Sri Lanka's connectivity through ports and tourism-linked demand.
• Although large-mammal hunting is illegal, poaching of deer and wild boar and opportunistic snaring persists in some landscapes, impacting prey bases for predators and causing non-target injuries (including to leopards).
• Large-scale clear-felling of natural forests is restricted, but illegal timber extraction and small-scale logging still occur in some regions; degradation is particularly harmful in remaining wet-zone forest fragments where high endemism is concentrated.
• Agrochemical runoff (fertilizers, pesticides) affects freshwater tanks, rivers, and wetlands in agricultural regions; solid-waste leakage and wastewater pollution impact urban waterways and coastal environments. Plastic and ghost gear contribute to marine wildlife harm, including turtle and seabird interactions.
• Coastal fisheries face pressure from high effort and localized overharvest; destructive practices and bycatch can impact reef fish, sharks/rays, and sea turtles. Small-scale fisheries are economically important, making management politically and socially complex.
• Changing monsoon dynamics and more frequent droughts stress dry-zone ecosystems and water availability, raising conflict risk as elephants seek water/food near farms. Warming seas drive coral bleaching and reef degradation; extreme rainfall events increase landslides and erosion in the central highlands, affecting montane habitats and downstream sedimentation.
• Invasive plants (e.g., in grasslands, wetlands, and disturbed forests) can outcompete native flora and reduce habitat quality. Invasive freshwater fish and aquarium releases also threaten native aquatic biodiversity in streams and reservoirs.
• High visitation in flagship parks (e.g., Yala) can cause crowding, off-road driving impacts, and behavioral disturbance to wildlife, including leopards and elephants. Coastal tourism can disturb nesting beaches for marine turtles without strong zoning and compliance.
• Extensive irrigation and tank cascades are central to Sri Lanka's dry-zone socio-ecology, but canalization, water diversion, and wetland alteration can simplify habitats, disrupt seasonal flood dynamics, and alter connectivity for aquatic species. Fire regimes can also be modified by land use and drought, affecting dry-zone vegetation structure.
• Localized quarrying and mineral sand extraction can degrade habitats and increase sedimentation, particularly where poorly regulated operations occur near sensitive riverine or coastal systems.
• Disease risks are a concern at the wildlife-livestock interface (e.g., in peri-protected area villages) and can be exacerbated by stress and crowding; outbreaks are episodic but present an ongoing management and surveillance need.
• Urban growth around major centers and along transport corridors increases land take, water pollution, and demand for coastal development, placing pressure on wetlands, mangroves, and remaining lowland forest patches.
• High dependence on biomass and local natural resources (fuelwood in some areas, sand/river resources, and coastal resources) can degrade ecosystems when extraction is unmanaged, especially around vulnerable river basins and coastal belts.
• Fragmentation of wet-zone forest patches and isolation of subpopulations (notably endemic amphibians, plants, and small mammals in the southwestern forests and central highlands) can reduce gene flow, increasing extinction risk for narrowly distributed endemics.