Sri Lanka Leopard
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| Panthera pardus kotiya |
The Sri Lanka leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya), also known as the Ceylonese leopard or Kotiya is a subspecies of leopard native to Sri Lanka. Kotiya is the Sinhala name for the leopard.
It is a close relative of Indian, North China, Persian and other Asian leopards.
The world's highest density of wild leopards is in Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, although this animal is considered an endangered species even in that country. The Wilpattu National Park in Sri Lanka is also famous as a good place for leopard watching.
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[edit] Description
The Sri Lanka leopard is one of the eight known subspecies of leopard, and the largest. Its coat is tawny or rusty yellow, stamped with dark spots and rosettes.
[edit] Range and habitat
This leopard is found only in Sri Lanka, and is the country's top predator. Very little is known about it, but individuals living within the Yala National Park in Sri Lanka inhabit the scrub jungles with rocky outcrops.
[edit] Feeding
Like most leopards, the Sri Lanka leopard feeds on almost anything it finds. Its diet includes small mammals, birds, reptiles and larger animals. Chital or spotted deer make up the majority of its diet. But the animal also preys on monkeys, wild pigs, and sambar deer.
Observations have shown that this cat has been known to tackle almost full-grown buffalos. When hunting, the leopard silently stalks its prey unnoticed. Then, it releases a quick burst of speed, bringing the prey down. A single bite to the throat finishes the kill.
[edit] Biology
There has not been a detailed scientific study of the Sri Lankan leopard. However, there have been observations made, stating that this leopard may be more social than other subspecies. But it is a solitary hunter, with exception of females and young. Both sexes live in territories, although the males' tend to overlap the females'. The litter consists of around 2 cubs, and breeding season is thought to take place during the dry season from May to July.
[edit] Threats
The Sri Lanka leopard has been threatened, due to poaching, habitat loss, and persecution. But despite these threats, the animal is tolerant of the changes and humans. Years of civil unrest have hampered conservation efforts, especially in the Wilpattu national park and eastern regions contested by government forces and LTTE terrorists.
[edit] Conservation
Further research into the Sri Lanka leopard is urgently needed before any conservation measure is taken, and the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society is currently undertaking the research for this purpose.
[edit] Misidentification in Sri Lanka
Some years ago, the Kotiya was mistakenly published as "tiger" in some Sri Lankan media due to incorrect information they got from the then head of the Wildlife Department in Sri Lanka. He said that "there are no Kotiyas in Sri Lanka", misinterpreting Panthera pardus kotiya as "Diviya" (cat) in Sinhala.
In fact, there are no tigers in Sri Lanka, only leopards. Although Panthera pardus kotiya is the Kotiya, and the is no animal named Panthera pardus diviya, people started wrongly using "Kotiya" for "tiger" and "diviya" was chosen for "leopard".
The term "Diviya" has been used for centuries in Sri Lanka for smaller wild species of the cat family like Handun Diviya (s), Kola Diviya (s), etc.
[edit] How the misinterpretation started
The name of the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) in Sri Lanka was wrongly translated as "Koti Sanvidanaya" in Sinhala. It should be "Vyagra Sanvidanaya" because Tiger is not Kotiya. The group's logo clearly shows a tiger Vyagra, and not a Leopard (Kotiya). The tiger lives in India but not in Sri Lanka. After this mis-translation of the name of a liberation group, others followed it, even those connected to protecting flora and funa.
The confusion exists only in Sri Lanka and is being gradually recorrected by nature lovers.
