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The remaining lowland and montane forests of this island ecoregion contain a host of unique plant and animal species. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Sri Lanka montane rain forests; Sri Lanka lowland rain forests Step into the Sri Lankan Moist Forests and you’ll detect the signs and sounds of Asian elephants, leopards, purple-faced leaf monkeys, fishing cats, and many other animals. Although these forests are mere fragments of their original size, they are the home of many kinds of plants and several kinds of butterflies, birds, reptiles, frogs, and mammals found nowhere else on Earth.
Rain is a constant, steady presence in this corner of Sri Lanka, with up to 16.4 feet (5 m) falling each year. That moisture nourishes a profusion of plants, which in turn provide food and shelter for birds, reptiles, insects, mammals, and more. For instance, this small piece of rain forest harbors more than 250 species of frogs that are found nowhere else on Earth. And of the 58 species of dipterocarp trees, 57 are found only in these forests. (Dipterocarps are large, commercially and ecologically valuable tropical hardwood trees found in Asia.)
A dazzling array of bird life can be found within the Sri Lankan Moist Forests. To get a sense of how varied these birds are, consider the beak coloration of some of the residents. The Sri Lankan green-billed coucal, which is purplish- black with reddish-brown wings, has a green bill. The Sri Lankan blue magpie, a beautiful brown and blue bird, sports a red beak. The beak of the brown-capped babbler is bluish. The bill of the grey hornbill is yellow. And the beak of the Sri Lankan orange-billed babbler is, of course, orange. Sharing the treetops with these brightly hued birds are a number of mammal species, such as the appropriately named golden palm civet, flying squirrels that glide from one tree to another, and even bright red tree-climbing crabs.
Most of the original moist forests of Sri Lanka have been cleared for vast tea estates, other forms of agriculture, or urban development. Although some remnants are protected as part of the Sinharaja Natural Heritage Wilderness Area, others remain vulnerable to these same pressures.
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