Nadika Hapuarachchi Archives

Spot on!-by Ruwini JAYAWARDANA Source:Dailynews Sri Lanka is home to many species of birds and animals, thanks to its geographical diversity. But sadly, many species are endangered, some critically endangered, while others are on the verge of extinction or near threatened. ‘Phantoms of the Night’, a coffee table book on the wild cats of Sri Lanka, will be launched on December 17 at 6 pm at the Shangri-La Hotel Colombo to shed light on this purpose. Collectively penned by naturalists Thilak Jayaratne, Janaka Gallangoda, Nadika Hapuarachchi, and Madura de Silva, it follows the series of coffee table books compiled by the team on Primates of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Freshwater Fish, and Mannar Unbound. The response they got from these volumes encouraged the group to launch a book focusing on Sri Lanka’s wild cats. ...

Phantoms of the Night: Wildcats of Sri Lanka-By Uditha Devapriya Source:island Review of Phantoms of the Night: Wildcats of Sri Lanka Thilak Jayaratne, Janaka Gallangoda, Nadika Hapuarachchi, and Madura de Silva Chaya Publishers, 2022, pp. 160, Rs. 5,000 The leopard is perhaps the most photographed animal in Sri Lanka. Slinking through grassy terrains and up sprawling trees, it has acquired a life of its own. Elusive and enigmatic, it tends to avoid human contact, preferring to lay low. This only belies its reputation as one the country’s most fearsome hunters, the undisputed elite among its predators. Indeed, the number of photographs and exhibitions organised every other year attest to its place in our collective consciousness. Although the lion has become the definitive symbol of the country, it is the leopard which has come to epitomise our forests and our parks. Yet, so far, we have only viewed it in isolation from ...