Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a

forest reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and a

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the c ...

in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a

Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

and

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan's endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds. The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the

Sri Lanka lowland rain forests The Sri Lanka lowland rain forests represents Sri Lanka's Tropical rainforests below in elevation in the southwestern part of the island. The year-around warm, wet climate together with thousands years of isolation from mainland India have r ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. There are about 3

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

s, and 15 or so leopards. The most common larger mammal is the endemic

purple-faced langur The purple-faced langur (''Semnopithecus vetulus''), also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that is endemic to Sri Lanka. The animal is a long-tailed arboreal species, identified by a mostly brown appearance ...

. Birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, invariably led by the fearless Sri Lanka crested drongo and the noisy

orange-billed babbler The orange-billed babbler (''Argya rufescens'') also known as Ceylon rufous babbler or Sri Lankan rufous babbler is a member of the family Leiothrichidae. The orange-billed babbler is a resident breeding bird endemic (ecology), endemic to Sri Lan ...

. Of Sri Lanka's 26 endemic birds, the 20 rainforest species all occur here, including the elusive

red-faced malkoha The red-faced malkoha (''Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. This malkoha species is endemic to Sri Lanka Description This is a large species at 46 cm with a long graduated tail. I ...

green-billed coucal The green-billed coucal (''Centropus chlororhynchos'') is a member of the cuckoos. It is endemic to Sri Lanka's wet zone and listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the small population declined due to forest destruction and fragmentation ...

and

Sri Lanka blue magpie The Sri Lanka blue magpie or Ceylon magpie (''Urocissa ornata'') is a brightly coloured member of the family Corvidae, found exclusively in Sri Lanka. This species is adapted to hunting in the dense canopy, where it is highly active and nimble. I ...

. Reptiles include the endemic

green pit viper Green pit viper is a common name for several venomous snakes and may refer to: *''Trimeresurus albolabris'', native to southeastern Asia from India to China and Indonesia *''Trimeresurus macrops'', native to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam *''Trime ...

and

hump-nosed viper ''Hump-nosed pit viper'' or ''Hump-nosed viper'' may refer to: * ''Hypnale'' (in general), any member of a genus of venomous pitvipers found in Sri Lanka and southwestern India. * ''Hypnale hypnale ''Hypnale hypnale'' is a venomous pit viper sp ...

s, and there are a large variety of amphibians, especially

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely rela ...

s. Invertebrates include the endemic Sri Lankan birdwing butterfly and leeches.

Etymology

Surrounded in dense fog, the dangerous, dark and mysterious Sinharaja forest is steeped in deep legend and mystery. The word ''Sinharaja'' means lion- (සිංහ/சிங்கம் ''sinha'') king or kingdom (රාජ/ராஜா ''raja''), and a popular folk legend has it that a legendary lion lived in this protected forest.

Geography

Location

Sinharaja Forest Reserve covers most of the

Kalu Ganga Kalu Ganga ( si, කළු ගඟ; literally: Black River) is a river in Sri Lanka. Measuring in length, the river originates from Sri Padhaya and reach the sea at Kalutara. The Black River flows through the Ratnapura and the Kalutara District a ...

basin and a small part of northern Gin Ganga. Most of the forest (60%) is contained within the borders of Rathnapura District. The other parts include Galle District with 20% and Kaluthara District with 20%.

Natural

The rainforest likely formed during the Jurassic era (from 200 million years to 145 million years ago). This forest encompasses an area of 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres/360 km²). The reserve is only from east to west, and a maximum of from north to south, but it is a treasure trove of

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, including trees, insects,

amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbor ...

ns, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Sinharaja forest vegetation density has been estimated at around 240,000 plants per hectare, the most dense rain forest in Asia.

Human activity

The reserve is well-integrated with the local population who live in some dozens of villages dotted along the border. The villages are more in number along the southern border whilst the presence of some large estates along the northern border has resulted in only a few villages there. The locals collect herbal medicine, edible fruits, nuts, mushrooms, other non-timber forest products including bees honey and a sugary sap collected from a local palm species of the genus Caryota. The sap is converted into jaggery, a local brew and vinegar. Local people walk in the forest to collect the above items when they are not busy with their other agricultural pursuits. In addition, the crystal-clear water coming from dozens of streams is the main water source for all people living around the reserve. For generations, local people trekked through the forest from south to north to make their annual pilgrimage to the Adams Peak. In 2013,

requested to halt the widening of the ancient road linking Lankagama area to Deniyaya along a 1-km jungle patch inside the protected area after a complaint from The Centre for Environmental and Nature Studies of Sri Lanka. The construction recommenced on August 10, 2020 after prolonged appeals by the people living in villages to the Sri Lankan Government. A group of environmentalists carried out a big social media campaign and asked the Sri Lanka Forest Department, the President, the Ministry of Environment and the Central Environment authority to stop this but the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to go ahead with it to improve the livelihood of poor villagers of the area as it will clear only 0.006% of the total landmass of the forest. Mr. Martin Wijesinhe was one of the most significant people in Sri Lanka in connection to the Sinharaja. He was the unofficial guardian of the Sinharaja. He has been the protector and caretaker of it since the 1950s till his death in 2021.

Endemic Mammals

* Sri Lankan elephant (''Elephas maximus maximus'') * Sri Lankan leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') * Sri Lankan deer (''Rusa unicolor unicolor'') * Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (''Moschiola meminna)'' * Sri Lankan jackal (''Canis aureus naria'') * Toque macaque (''Macaca sinica'') * Red slender loris (''Loris tardigradus'') * Purple-faced langur (''Semnopithecus vetulus'') * Sinharaja shrew (''Crocidura hikmiya)'' * Golden palm civet (''Paradoxurus zeylonensis'') * '' Paradoxurus aureus'' * Golden dry-zone palm civet (''Paradoxurus stenocephalus)'' * Sri Lankan brown palm civet (''Paradoxurus montanus)'' * Yellow-striped chevrotain (''Moschiola kathygre'')

Gallery

SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img13.jpg, A waterfall in Sinharaja Rainforest SL60butterfly.jpg, Common Birdwing SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img01.jpg, Yellow-browed bulbul SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img22.jpg, Purple-faced langur with baby SL Sinharaja Forest asv2020-01 img08.jpg, A stream in the reserve Tree canopy in Sinharaja.JPG, The high tree canopy in the reserve Xenochrophis asperrimus.jpg, '' Fowlea asperrimus''

Notes and references

{{Authority control 1978 establishments in Sri Lanka Forest reserves of Sri Lanka Important Bird Areas of Sri Lanka Protected areas in Sabaragamuwa Province Protected areas in Southern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka lowland rain forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka