ISLAND DISTRIBUTION – ISLAND OF SRI LANKA

No complete island-wide survey prior to this has been conducted for the presence of leopard populations. Our current work hopes to not only solidify the notion that leopard populations are extant and resident outside protected areas but also aims to document the varied terrain occupied and land-use patterns utilized. One eventual goal is to be able to answer in a meaningful way that ever-popular question “how many leopards are there in Sri Lanka?”

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It is large-scale work and as such is a long-term, ongoing project.  Forests that have not been thoroughly investigated will be included in this project, patch and connector forests and non-forest link landscapes will also be surveyed.  We also hope to understand how the current land use policies within the country are contributing to and/or hindering wildlife, and specifically leopard, movement.  This will have repercussions for the eventual conservation of fragmented populations within the island.