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Sri Lankan Elephant
The Sri Lankan elephant (''Elephas maximus maximus'') is native to Sri Lanka and one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. It is the type subspecies of the Asian elephant and was first described by Carl Linnaeus under the binomial ''Elephas maximus'' in 1758. The Sri Lankan elephant population is now largely restricted to the dry zone in the north, east and southeast of Sri Lanka. Elephants are present in Udawalawe National Park, Yala National Park, Lunugamvehera National Park, Wilpattu National Park and Minneriya National Park but also live outside protected areas. It is estimated that Sri Lanka has the highest density of elephants in Asia. Human-elephant conflict is increasing due to conversion of elephant habitat to settlements and permanent cultivation. Characteristics In general, Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Their back is conve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yala National Park
Yala (යාල) National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park (Block 1), and Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers and is located about from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic birds. There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. Among the largest is Lunugamvehera National Park. The park is si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tusks
Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with pigs and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors. Tusks share common features such as extra-oral position, growth pattern, composition and structure, and lack of contribution to ingestion. Tusks are thought to have adapted to the extra-oral environments, like dry or aquatic or arctic. In most tusked species both the males and the females have tusks although the males' are larger. Most mammals with tusks have a pair of them growing out from either side of the mouth. Tusks are generally curved and have a smooth, continuous surface. The male narwhal's straight single helical tusk, which usually grows out from the left of the mouth, is an exception to the typical features of tusks described above. Continuous growth of tusks is enabled by formative tissues in the apical openings of the roots of the teeth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somawathiya National Park
Somawathiya National Park is one of the four national parks designated under the Mahaweli River development project. Senarathna 2004: p. 166 Somawathiya Chaitya, a stupa said to be containing a relic of the tooth of the Buddha, is situated within the park. The park was created on 2 September 1986, having been originally designated a wildlife sanctuary on 9 August 1966. The park is home to many megaherbivores. The national park is located north-east of Colombo. Physical features Somawathiya National Park lies in the deltaic flood plains of the Mahaweli River and contains the junction where it is forked into two branches. The two branches are the Mahaweli River, which flows north into Koddiyar bay and the lesser Verugal Oya which flows north-east into the sea. The central riparian flood plain is featured by many old river channels and contain dispersed 'villus', the waterfilled basins around among the grassy plains. There are 20 such villus is located in the park. Somawathiya an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flood Plains National Park
Flood Plains National Park ( si, ජලගැලුම් නිම්න ජාතික වනෝද්යානය, translit=Jalagælum Nimna Jātika Vanōdyānaya; ta, வெள்ளச் சமவெளிகள் தேசிய வனம், translit=Veḷḷac Camaveḷikaḷ Tēciya Vaṉam) is one of the four national parks set aside under the Mahaweli River development project in Sri Lanka. Senarathna 2004: p. 166 The park was created on 7 August 1984. The national park is situated along the Mahaweli flood plain and is considered a rich feeding ground for elephants. Flood Plains National Park is considered an elephant corridor for the elephants migrate between Wasgamuwa and Somawathiya national parks. The park is situated north-east of Colombo. Physical features The park's elevation range from with sparse rock outcrop. The Mahaweli River flows from south to north through the centre of the park. The rich alluvial soil flood plains situated beside the river are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasgomuwa National Park
Wasgamuwa National Park is a natural park in Sri Lanka situated in the Matale and Polonnaruwa Districts. It was declared to protect and to make a refuge for the displaced wild animals during the Mahaweli Development Project in 1984 and is one of the four National Parks designated under the Project. Originally it was designated as a nature reserve in 1938, and then in the early 1970s the area was regraded as a strict nature reserve. Wasgamuwa is one of the protected areas where Sri Lankan Elephants can be seen in large herds. It is also one of the Important Bird Areas in Sri Lanka. The name of the Wasgamuwa has derived through the words "Walas Gamuwa". "Walasa" is Sinhala for sloth bear and "Gamuwa" means a wood. The park is situated 225 km away from Colombo. Physical features The National Park's annual daily temperature is and has a dry zone climate. Annual rainfall ranges between 1650–2100 mm. Rain is received during the northeastern monsoon, from October to Jan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahaweli River
The Mahaweli River ( si, මහවැලි ගඟ, literally "Great Sandy River"; ta, மகாவலி ஆறு 'mahawali gangai'', is a long river, ranking as the longest river in Sri Lanka. It has a drainage basin of , the largest in the country, which covers almost one-fifth of the total area of the island. The real beginning of Mahaweli Ganga starts at Polwathura (at Mahawila area), a remote village of Nuwara-Eliya District in bank Nawalapitiya of Kandy District by further joining of Hatton Oya and Kotmale Oya. The river reaches the Bay of Bengal on the southwestern side of Trincomalee Bay. The bay includes the first of a number submarine canyons, making Trincomalee one of the finest natural deep-sea harbours in the world. As part of Mahaweli Development programme the river and its tributaries are dammed at several locations to allow irrigation in the dry zone, with almost of land irrigated. Production of hydroelectricity from six dams of the Mahaweli system supplie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protected Areas Of Sri Lanka
Protected areas of Sri Lanka are administrated by Department of Forest Conservation and Department of Wildlife Conservation of Sri Lanka.There are 501 protected areas in Sri Lanka. The protected areas that fall under supervision of the Department of Forest Conservation include forests defined in National Heritage Wilderness Area Act in 1988, forest reservations, and forests managed for sustainability. Sinharaja Forest Reserve is an example for a National Heritage forest (it is also a World Heritage Site). There are 32 forests categorized as conservation forests including Knuckles Mountain Range. Strict nature reserves, national parks, nature reserves, forest corridors, and sanctuaries recognized under the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance are managed by Department of Wildlife Conservation. Total of all protected areas is 1,767,000 ha. Protected areas in Sri Lanka account for 26.5 percent of the total area. This is a higher percentage of protected areas than in all of Asia and muc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruhuna National Park
Yala (යාල) National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names such as, Ruhuna National Park (Block 1), and Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers and is located about from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and aquatic birds. There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. Among the largest is Lunugamvehera National Park. The park is s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peak Wilderness Sanctuary
Peak Wilderness sanctuary is a natural reserve in Sri Lanka. It is the third largest (by area) of the 50 sanctuaries in the country. "Sri Pada" Peak Wilderness sanctuary is a tropical rain forest that spreads over a land of 224 square kilometers around the Sri Pada (Adam's Peak) mountain. A huge forest area that belonged to the Peak Wilderness was cut down and cleared during the British colonial rule in Sri Lanka (1815-1948) to gain land for the massive tea estates which are still functioning in Nuwara Eliya district. The remaining portion of the Peak Wilderness was declared a wildlife sanctuary on October 25, 1940. The contours of "Sri Pada" Peak Wilderness vary from 1000 to 7360 feet above sea level. Therefore, it possesses unusual geographical formations compared to the other natural reserves of the island. Bena Samanala (6579 ft), Dotalugala, Detanagala, are some of the taller mountains in the Peak Wilderness. It is also the birthplace of Kelani, Kalu, Walave rivers and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dwarf Elephant
Dwarf elephants are prehistoric members of the order Proboscidea which, through the process of allopatric speciation on islands, evolved much smaller body sizes (around ) in comparison with their immediate ancestors. Dwarf elephants are an example of insular dwarfism, the phenomenon whereby large terrestrial vertebrates (usually mammals) that colonize islands evolve dwarf forms, a phenomenon attributed to adaptation to resource-poor environments and selection for early maturation and reproduction. Some modern populations of Asian elephants have also undergone size reduction on islands to a lesser degree, resulting in populations of pygmy elephants. Fossil remains of dwarf elephants have been found on the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Malta (at Għar Dalam), Crete (in Chania at Vamos, Stylos and in a now-underwater cave on the coast), Sicily, Sardinia, the Cyclades Islands and the Dodecanese Islands. Other islands where dwarf ''Stegodon'' have been found are Sulawesi, Flores, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Millangoda Raja
Millangoda Raja (1938-30 July 2011: si, මිල්ලන්ගොඩ රාජා), also known as Millangoda tusker, was a Sri Lankan elephant. Over 9 feet tall and with 7 and a half foot long tusks, he was (wrongly) considered the longest tusked Asian elephant during his lifetime, as there were much longer tusks in other individuals. In fact, several other Asian elephants with crossed tusks sported 8-10 foot (2.5-3m) long tusks. The tusker was one of the main casket bearers of the procession of Esala, an annual procession held to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, held in Kandy, Sri Lanka. History Raja was captured at Nawagaththegama jungles in Anamaduwa, Puttalam District in 1945 when he was a calf elephant around the age of 3-4 years. In Raja's herd nineteen elephants were captured, 15 of them were sold in Anamaduwa Wev Pitiya. Thereafter he was owned by M. R. A. Millangoda Appuhamy of Molagoda, Kegalle. Appuhamy brought five six-foot tall, eight year old sma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Depigmentation
Depigmentation is the lightening of the skin or loss of pigment. Depigmentation of the skin can be caused by a number of local and systemic conditions. The pigment loss can be partial (injury to the skin) or complete (caused by vitiligo). It can be temporary (from tinea versicolor) or permanent (from albinism). Most commonly, depigmentation of the skin is linked to people born with vitiligo, which produces differing areas of light and dark skin. Monobenzone also causes skin depigmentation. Increasingly, people who are not afflicted with vitiligo experiment with lower concentrations of monobenzone creams in the hope of lightening their skin tone evenly. An alternate method of lightening is to use the chemical mequinol over an extended period of time. Both monobenzone and mequinol produce dramatic skin whitening, but react very differently. Mequinol leaves the skin looking extremely pale. However, tanning is still possible. It is important to notice that the skin will not go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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