Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)

Do you know what makes a sloth bear different? The answer is food. While most bears eat anything, from berries to eggs to small animals, the small sloth mainly eats termites and ants. Sloths will break open a termite mound with its strong front claws, insert its snout, and blow away earth and dust before sucking termites into its mouth. To make it easier the bears do not have upper incisors (front teeth). This creates a hole through which they can suck up insects. Sloths are also able to close their nostrils voluntarily, which stops dust flying up their nose when they are looking for termites. The bears also have a sweet tooth – putting up with bee stings to get into hives to eat honey!

Sloths can be found across the Indian subcontinent in many different habitats – but in Sri Lanka they are only found in the north and eastern dry forests. A sloth will usually give birth to two cubs in a den at the bottom of a hollow tree. After three months the family will leave this safe place, and the cubs will ride on their mum’s back until they are about 2.5 years old, and are ready to go their own way.

What are their main threats?

1.Habitat loss. Their natural habitats are destroyed by agriculture development, building of roads and settlements and extraction of forest products such as wood, fruit and honey.

2.Poaching. In some countries sloths are hunted for cultural reasons – these include people using the bones, teeth and claws to ward off evil spirits and using their fat for native medicine and hair regeneration.

3.Capture. In some areas bear cubs are captured to be used as "dancing bears" for entertainment.

» Find out how else you can help to protect Sri Lanka's endangered species

Illustration by Asia Hewapathirana

WED winners!

Thank-you so much to everyone who sent in such fantastic drawings for our World Environment Day Competition. Everyone who participated will receive a certificate – and most importantly it is wonderful to know how many caring kids are out there helping us all to protect Sri Lanka’s biodiversity. Please keep up the fantastic work!

We are so pleased to announce the winner of our competition goes to Shenali Carren Maloney, age 14, who wins a 35mm Kodak camera, a book on the birds of Sri Lanka and a Rainforest Ranger t-shirt. You can see her picture below:



We also have two runners-up who will receive Rainforest Ranger t-shirts...

You can see the entry from H. A. Sadini Upeka (age 13) below:



and you can see the entry from Saradha Weerasekar (age 14) below:

Airsac catfish (Heteropneustes microps)

The airsac catfish is one of the more unusual fishes found in Sri Lanka – especially because it breathes air! While most fish have gills that help them take oxygen from their watery environment – this catfish has a long air sac that acts like a lung, allowing the catfish to breathe air.

Although they only grow to about 15cm long (about the same size as an adult’s hand) airsac catfish are dreaded by local fisherman due to the sharp poisonous spine in each pectoral fin that can give a painful sting on any person wading in its territory.

The fish hang out in schools of about ten. They are native to Sri Lanka and can be found in the south-west of the country. They mostly live in fresh and brackish water in areas affected by humans, such as ditches and swamps. At night you can find the fish looking for food and eating both plants and animals.

The fish are vulnerable to extinction – mainly because of chemicals used in farming that are washed into streams and rivers. Because these catfish live in small areas they are at an especially high risk of being affected by pollution.

To help protect these special fish, ask your family and friends to buy at least one item of organic food a week. Food which is produced organically is free of chemicals and don’t harm the animals that live in the area they are grown.

Four words you might not know…

Brackish: slightly salty water
Omnivore: an organism that feeds on both plants and animals.
School: a large group of fish
Pectoral fin: in fish, a pectoral fin is found on each side of the body just behind the gills. They are generally used for balancing and braking.


» Find out how else you can help to protect Sri Lanka's endangered species

Illustration by Asia Hewapathirana

World Environment Day Competition

Many Species. One Planet. One Future. is the theme for this year’s World Environment Day (WED) on 5th June.

If you’ve been following our Endangered Animals of Sri Lanka column, you’ll know that even though the island has a huge diversity of species, many are under threat from extinction. In fact, over the whole of the earth, 17,291 species are known to be threatened – from little-known plants and insects to colourful birds and mammals. And while the human population keeps growing, most animal and plant populations are becoming rarer.

But why is this happening? Reasons include deforestation, pollution, over fishing and hunting, and climate change. In other words, humans are the main cause of most extinctions.

Our planet has a huge diversity of life – known as ‘biodiversity’ – all connected together. Small insects help to pollinate the plants and trees that provide food to many different animals, including humans, while species such as frogs eat mosquitoes and help control the spread of diseases like Dengue. When even one species is taken out of the intricate web of life, the results can be catastrophic.

Competition details
To celebrate this global day for environmental action, we want your help to remind people that millions of humans and millions of species all share the same planet, and only together can we enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. The Funday Times and Rainforest Rescue International are running a poster competition with the theme “Protect Biodiversity. Protect our endangered species.” The prize is:
• A Kodak camera
• A book on the birds of Sri Lanka
• The winning poster printed in the paper

Entry requirements:
Competition is open to anyone aged 8-16
Closing date to receive all entries is 31st May 2010
Poster size should be between A4 and A3
Send your poster, along with your name, age, address, phone number, school and grade, to:
Rainforest Rescue International, 37c Wakunagoda Lane, Galle

Pygmy lizard (Cophotis ceylanica)

This lizard is one of the slowest moving lizards on the island. You can only find it in Sri Lanka, and then only in a few areas including the cloud forests in Horton Plains, Hakgala and the Knuckles Mountain range. But if you are lucky enough to see one, you can easily identify it as a pygmy lizard by its irregular-shaped body scales and curled, prehensile tail. (Prehensile means it is able to take hold of objects like branches).

Pygmy lizards belong to a family of reptiles called Agamidae (commonly called dragons or dragon lizards). But unlike other Agamids these little fellows don't lay eggs. Instead they hatch the eggs within their body and give birth to live young. Scientists think this is because the lizards have adapted to living in cold montane environments. In these places the night air can get very cool, and if the eggs get chilled overnight they will not be able to hatch.

The mystery of the disappearing lizards

During the mid 1990s hundreds of pygmy lizards died daily in Nuwara Eliya Hakgala – pushing the once high population nearly into extinction. It is also suspected a similar population crash happened in the Knuckles Mountains, and there were great fears the species was extinct in that area until a few were found in 2004/5 on the Project Knuckles research expeditions. The precise causes remain a mystery, although it is suspected that these deaths were the result of climatic changes and deforestation.

What can you do?

The cloud forests one of the most threatened ecosystems in Sri Lanka – they have been cut down to make space for growing the vegetables we eat every day. So why not start a home garden and grow your own vegetables – and help protect the endangered pygmy lizard’s habitat.


» Find out how else you can help to protect Sri Lanka's endangered species


Illustration by Asia Hewapathirana

Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

These very intelligent and enormous mammals can grow up to 3m tall and 6.4m long. A male elephant weighs around 5.4 tonnes – equivalent to 5,400 packets of sugar! And despite their size their charge speed can reach nearly 50kmph.

You can find Asian elephants all through Asia, but they are already extinct in 3 countries, and there are only around 50,000 left in the wild.

Habitat loss is the main threat to these animals. Elephants eat around 150kg of vegetation a day, and as human populations increase, elephant feeding grounds are destroyed. They raid crops, destroy properties, and sometimes even kill people. Villagers often retaliate by killing the elephants, and experts now believe this to be the main cause of elephant deaths in Asia.

Other threats include poaching for ivory. And since only males have tusks, poaching has resulted in populations becoming skewed towards females, which has reduced breeding rates. Elephants have also become isolated as human settlements cut off ancient migratory routes and these small groups are at risk from inbreeding and disease.

Conservation efforts include laws that make poaching illegal, although they are hard to enforce. Many elephants live in protected reserves but these are often too small, which leads to human-elephant conflict. The creation of wildlife corridors to extend reserve lands, together with the end of poaching, are some of the steps needed to secure the future of the Asian elephant.

How to tell an Asian Elephant from an African Elephant

1.Asian elephants have smaller bodies and ears

2.The trunks of Asian elephants have only a single, finger-like end, while African elephants have two

3.Both male and female African elephants have tusks, but in Asian elephants only the males have them, and in some countries they don’t have tusks at all.


» Find out how else you can help to protect Sri Lanka's endangered species


Illustration by Asia Hewapathirana

Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris)

These large reptiles mainly live in shallow, calm waters like lakes, ponds, marshes and lagoons. They’ve adapted especially to live in water. With broad snouts and flat heads, their eyes, ears and nostrils are all on one level. This allows them to see, hear, and smell with almost all of their body underwater. Their eyes are protected by a clear third eyelid for underwater vision, and their windpipe can be covered with a flap of skin to allow them to attack underwater without letting water into the lungs. They’re excellent swimmers and use their flat tail to propel them forward.

Mugger’s are social animals and can live for 40 years or more. When it comes to families, females will dig a hole nest and lay between 10 and 45 eggs. She’ll be on guard until the young hatch and then both mum and dad will look after their young until they’re about a year old.

Did you know the temperature of the nest determines whether the young are male or female? If the nest is about 32.5oC the babies will all be male, but if it is above or below 32.5oC they’ll all be females!

Muggers are vulnerable to extinction – mainly because in the 1950s & 60s they were aggressively hunted for their skin. Now they are under threat from habitat destruction, egg collection and drowning in fishing nets.

How to tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile

1. Crocs have long, narrow, V-shaped snouts – alligator's are wider and U-shaped

2. The fourth tooth on the lower jaw sticks over the upper lip on crocs so you can see it when their mouths are closed. In alligators it is covered up.

3. Crocs are a lighter olive brown colour, while alligators appear blackish.


» Find out how else you can help to protect Sri Lanka's endangered species


Written by Rainforest Rescue International

Illustration by Asia Hewapathirana