Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a national park spread over 11250 hectares in the height of 300-1170 meters in the Rakwana Mountain range in the southwest of the central mountain range of Sri Lanka. It borders the Galle district. It has received international attention and has been designated as a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Part of sri lanka's lowland rainforest ecoregion, this shallow mountain rainforest was protected from commercialization due to difficulty in access. It was declared a biosphere reserve in 1607 and a World Heritage Site in 1988.The name "Singharajadahana" of the reserve means "Singharajadahana" which is a distance from east to west of the reserve. 81 km and maximum distance from north to south. However, it is a protected sanctuary for endemic species, including insects, amphibians, amphibians, birds, and mammals.
Due to the thick vegetation cover, wild animals are not easily seen here, like dry zone parks such as Yala. The last three wet zone elephants can be seen here, and leopards are also rare. Recently, a rare black leopard (tiger) was killed and the largest mammal most commonly seen is the Sri Lankan grey monkey.
Animals native to Sinharaja
Among the endemic animals currently identified in Sri Lanka, there are 20 species living in the rainforests, including the red flower koha, the Sri Lankan bata atiku and the Sri Lanka cucumber.
Reptiles are endemic species, such as the fruit locust and the caterpillar, and there is also a wide variety of amphibians. Tree frogs should be specially mentioned here. Common Birdwing butterflies and cucumbers are well known as invertebrates.
Sri Lanka Grey Monkey
There are a number of animals native to the Morning Side area of Sinharaja and can only be seen there. Among them, lizards and hunu species are the main ones.
Plants native to Sinharaja
Giant Mouse
This giant rat species is native to Sinharaja. It works from two meters to five meters in height. Not only this, sinharaja is similar to the mahaghara of hela herb.
Environmental destruction in Sinharaja
The first access road to sinharaja forest was built in 1963. It's from Veddagala to Small. Later, with the help of Reed Collings Joint Company of Canada, the Kosgama Thin Plank Corporation was formed and an area of about 5000 hectares of land was allotted in the northern part of The Sinharaja Forest to obtain the necessary timber for this purpose. Large machines were used to transport wooden trunks. Timber transport lines measuring 12-15 feet were also constructed. During the period 1972-1977, the public strongly protested against the huge environmental damage caused by Sinharaja. In the face of strong opposition from the public on that day, the wood felling was stopped. By then, about 2,500 hectares of forest land had already been destroyed. The roads constructed for transporting timber are still found in sinharaja. Some people living in these areas are also destroying the forest.
Becoming a World Heritage Site
In 1978, unesco declared it an international man and biosphere reserve on the recommendation of the Department of Forestry, considering the importance of this forest as a catchment area, biological importance and its enormous ecological system services. In 1988, it was declared a national heritage site. A year later, in 1989, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site.
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