WNPS partners LOLC for multi-regional monitoring system to conserve the Sri Lankan leopard

LOLC Managing Director and CEO Kapila Jayawardena and Wildlife and Nature Protection Society President Spencer Manuelpillai exchange the agreement of the Multi-Regional Monitoring System for the Conservation of the Sri Lankan Leopard. Others (from left): Wildlife and Nature Protection Society General Secretary Jehan CanagaRetna, LOLC COO Kithsiri Gunawardena and Wildlife and Nature Protection Society Co-Chair Wildcats Subcommittee and Scientific Advisor Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage are also present  

LOLC Managing Director and CEO Kapila Jayawardena handed over the cheque to Wildlife and Nature Protection Society General Secretary Jehan CanagaRetna. Others (from left): Wildlife and Nature Protection Society President Spencer Manuelpillai, LOLC COO Kithsiri Gunawardena and Wildlife and Nature Protection Society Co-Chair Wildcats Subcommittee and Scientific Advisor Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage are also present  

By Tania de Silva

The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is the largest of the four wild cat species found in Sri Lanka, and the apex mammalian predator on the island. The sub-species of this charismatic animal is

Wildlife and Nature  Protection Society President Spencer Manuelpillai

LOLC Managing Director and CEO Kapila Jayawardena

LOLC COO Kithsiri Gunawardena

endemic to Sri Lanka and widely distributed across the island’s dry zones and low country wet zones with habitats ranging to the cloud forests of the highest elevations in the hill country. 

It is believed that there are less than 1,000 leopards roaming in the wild within the island. As unable to assume the correct count of the leopards, it is also a reason for this initiative of the multi-regional monitoring system. Further, the leopard is threatened globally by habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade, while in the human-dominated land-use areas in Sri Lanka, the impacts of habitat loss prevail critically. To initiate and sustain a science-based conservation strategy it is imperative to further understand the distribution and the ecology of the Sri Lankan leopard, specially, in under-studied areas nationwide.

Recently the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) partnered with LOLC Holdings PLC, Sri Lanka’s leading and largest diversified conglomerate, to establish a network of specialised leopard conservation locations and research centres across identified geographically important areas, within Sri Lanka.

In the initial phase, six research stations will be set up in identified locations across Okanda or Panama, Morningside, Kilinochchi, Belihuloya, Maskeliya or Nallathanniya, Sigiriya or Ritigala. These research centres are going to focus on understanding the species function in populations or meta-populations that exist at much larger scales than individual management units, at a regional level. Through this initiative, the WNPS hopes to create a common knowledge and data-sharing platform to drive a research-based island-wide leopard monitoring program. Through the establishment of these research centres nationwide, smaller monitoring efforts will be easily integrated into larger programs and databases. It will enable scientists and conservationists to access to deeper and wider sets of data to understand local leopard populations, regionally and countrywide.

Moreover, the project will monitor the presence of leopards in selected geographical areas, using camera traps and surveys. The research centres will liaise with local wildlife and forest officers, and also serve as educational hubs to generate awareness amongst the local communities, including knowledge dissemination and generating research-based human-leopard conflict mitigation measures. This is timely and critical, in addressing the increasing number of leopard deaths in Sri Lanka, predominantly through snares set up in a human-dominated landscape.

“This world is blessed to have species like the largest cats,” said LOLC Holdings PLC Chief Operating Officer Kithsiri Gunawardhana. He explained the wide distribution of Sri Lankan leopards due to their intelligence and the ability to adopt according to the environment. In addition, he admitted that he was unable to carry out that project without a scientific background.

The project will provide a critical context for the management and conservation of the Sri Lankan leopard, currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Recent research has shown that leopard habitat suitability in Sri Lanka is heavily influenced by forest cover, patch size, connectivity, and the level of protection of the landscape, a critical requirement to conserve the island’s biodiversity.

“As the Sri Lankan leopard is the largest predator in our ecosystem, it is important that we know the current position related to its habitat, the threats faced by it, etc. Hence, it is vital to do a more coordinated island-wide data collection effort to mitigate any conflicts or issues faced by this predator,” said LOLC Group Managing Director and CEO Kapila Jayawardena.

“To this end, we are pleased to step forward and join hands with the WNPS to support them in this endeavour, which will enable them to make informed decisions to protect this endemic species,” he added.

“Multi-stakeholder partnerships play a key role in influencing the course of conservation. For lasting impacts, a range of extraordinary partners, including governments, local communities, businesses, scientists, academics, and individuals must collaborate. We are happy that Sri Lanka’s largest business and most diversified business group has partnered with us for a five-year project. The WNPS will bring the wild cat research community to work together and share the findings for a collective conservation effort,” said WNPS President Spencer Manuelpillai.

Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka Department of Natural Resources Senior Lecturer Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage said: “The Sri Lankan Leopard is threatened by our unplanned land use, intentional wildlife crimes, lack of awareness, economic intentions especially in the tourism sector with minimum respect for wildlife, obstacles for enforcing adequate penalties for wildlife crimes, limited understanding of its ecology and resource requirements, and finally the delay in translating knowledge into action.” 

She expressed the hope that the initiative by the WNPS and LOLC Holdings will assist to combine findings of the past and the ongoing research and conservation measures, identify the data gaps, addressing them through collaborative pathways, facilitate data sharing, and fuelling a collective and science-driven long-termed leopard conservation strategy for Sri Lanka with the participation of multiple stakeholders. She said the project will benefit from the knowledge, of all researchers studying leopards in Sri Lanka, of those who are actively working for the conservation of this charismatic animal, and of those who are willing to initiate new research in data deficient areas, as our ultimate objective is to ensure the existence of healthy populations of leopards in Sri Lanka.

“We have the need and passion to conserve leopards,” reiterated Prof. Enoka Kudavidanage.

– Pix by Lasantha Kumara