Science advances by debate. Unlike in politics, scientific arguments need to be backed by evidence and scientific reasoning. These concerns surfaced again with the recent decision by the American Association…
Sri Lanka hopes to use a top global biodiversity trade summit it’s hosting in May to shine a global spotlight on the island’s unique biodiversity. The 18th meeting of the…
A leading science advocacy group has suspended its decision to award two Sri Lankan scientists for their efforts to link a controversial weed killer to kidney disease, following a public…
For a large, charismatic and endangered species such as the Asian elephant, you might think scientists would have figured out where they hang out and when. But it turns out,…
Meet Chippy, Snooky and Tumpy — all “goblins” or “brownies” from Enid Blyton’s children’s books, and now the names of new species of tiny spiders that scientists have found lurking…
Six conservationists received the conservation world’s “Green Oscars” at an awards ceremony at the Royal Geographic Society in London, U.K., on April 25. The Whitley Award, granted by the U.K.-based…
PITEKELE, Sri Lanka — Visitors to the Sinharaja Man and Biosphere Reserve, Sri Lanka’s largest remaining primary rainforest, could easily miss the fact that adjoining the forest’s entrance is the old…
Malaysian customs officials have seized 330 tortoises that were smuggle into the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The tortoises, which included 325 Radiated tortoises as well as five Ploughshare tortoises, were…
Among best selling items this gift-giving season are Hatchimals, a Retro Pop-Up Hot Dog Toaster, and a Monogrammed Blackhead Remover. But what do you buy for a harried, underfunded, hard…
Elephants are believed to follow a strict code of conduct. Younger female elephants are commonly thought to follow the lead of older individuals, relying on their experience and wisdom to find food,…
After Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war, researchers use camera traps to establish a baseline for the country’s leopard population.
ay the word “cat” and it’s unlikely the words “water” or “swimming” spring quickly to mind. But both are essential to the lifestyle of Asia’s Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus). Short,…
This World Mangrove Day, the tropical island-nation of Sri Lanka is getting its own mangrove museum. The museum, inaugurated by the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena today, will showcase how mangroves…
In May 2012, customs authorities at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka seized a shipment of 359 African elephant tusks. The ivory shipment, weighing around 1.5 tons, was being…
Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of environmental groups that had taken on a biofuel company establishing a plantation in the buffer zone of a national park.
This article is the second in a two-part series on mangrove conservation. Read the first part here. Red mangroves (Rhizophora mangle) in Panama. Photo by Rhett Butler. In December 2014,…
This article is the first in a two-part series on mangrove conservation. Read the second part here. Mangrove forest in Cuero-Salado, Honduras. Photo by Rhett Butler. In a press conference…
Click charts to enlarge Loss of tropical forests accelerated roughly 60 percent during the 2000s, argues a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The findings contradict previous research…
Human-elephant conflicts on the rise, some conservation initiatives planned by government In 1983, Sri Lanka became embroiled in a 26-year-long civil war in which a rebel militant organization fought to…
Recent major Malagasy rosewood busts. Authorities in Singapore have made the largest-ever international seizure of rosewood logs, providing further evidence that industrial-scale smuggling of Madagascar's rainforest timber continues despite an…
In Sri Lanka, an underground wildlife racket has been simmering for a while. And a recent incident has brought it to a boil. On the night of May 1st, a…
Scientists have identified a new species of day gecko that is the largest in its genus (Cnemaspis) to be found in Sri Lanka. To date, it has been observed only…
In 1876—the same year that the first telephone call was made—the British scientist Albert Günther described a new species of frog from Sri Lanka, but the species, known as the…
Biologists in Sri Lanka have published the first documented evidence of dwarfism in an adult wild animal. A male Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) measuring just over 1.5 meters (five feet)…
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) have co-existed with human practices for thousands of years, including shifting cultivation. Shifting agriculture encompasses a variety of different practices that involve abandoning plots for periods…
Environmentalists have responded with alarm to a proposed amnesty permitting the registration of illegally captured elephants in Sri Lanka. Recent reports in Sri Lankan media have outlined the proposal, stating…
In 2010 the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) pledged to set aside 17 percent of the world's land as protected areas in addition to protecting 60 percent of the world's…
The 2013 Zoos and Aquariums: Committing to Conservation (ZACC) conference runs from July 8th—July 12th in Des Moines, Iowa, hosted by the Blank Park Zoo. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com…
Described by a number of media outlets as "the size of your face" a new tree-dwelling tarantula discovered in Sri Lanka has awed arachnophiliacs and terrified arachnophobes alike. But the…
A new species discovered in the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary: Pseudophilautus sirilwijesundarai. Photo by: L.J. Mendis Wickramasinghe. Two surveys in the mountainous forests of Sri Lanka's Peak Wilderness Sanctuary have uncovered…
