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**Sri Lankan Leopard - Panthera pardus kotiya
Short: The island’s only big cat - a silent, golden ghost of the forests. Revered yet hunted, this apex predator teeters between survival and loss as forests shrink and human conflict grows.
Facts:
Habitat: Sri Lanka’s dry zone scrublands, montane cloud forests, and lowland rainforests (notably Yala, Horton Plains, Wilpattu).
Diet: Deer, wild boar, monkeys, small mammals - opportunistic carnivore.
Behavior: Solitary and territorial; active both day and night, adapting well to Sri Lanka’s diverse habitats.
Threats: Habitat fragmentation, snaring, retaliatory killings, and genetic isolation.
Status: Endangered (IUCN Red List, subspecies endemic to Sri Lanka).
Details:
The Sri Lankan Leopard is one of nature’s most magnificent survivors - a golden apparition slipping through shafts of sunlight in the island’s forest depths. Smaller than its African cousins but just as fierce, it has evolved in isolation for thousands of years, filling the ecological role of both lion and tiger in Sri Lanka’s wild ecosystems.
Its coat glows deep amber under the island sun, patterned with dense rosettes that melt into the forest’s dappled light. In the misty highlands of Horton Plains, it appears ghostly grey against cloud-wrapped grasslands, while in Yala’s thorny scrub it burns almost copper in the heat.
Each leopard commands a vast range, marking territory through scent and silent patrols. Yet its kingdom is shrinking. Forest corridors are cut by tea estates, villages, and highways. Many leopards fall victim to illegal snares set for wild boar or become casualties of human fear and retaliation.
Conservationists now track and monitor individuals with camera traps and GPS collars, striving to protect this island monarch. In Sri Lankan folklore, it’s a creature of mystery - the “Diviyā”, a shadow of strength and elegance.
To see one in the wild - golden eyes meeting yours through the leaves - is to witness the island’s soul staring back.
2025 november 07