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Animals in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a home and sanctuary for hundreds of species of animals as wide and diverse as the habitats they live in. Sri Lanka also has the world's oldest recorded wildlife preserve and today, more than 8% of the land is preserved as national parks or nature preserves.
Sri Lanka has over 90 species of mammals, including
wild boar
wild boars, flying foxes/fruit bats, jackals, mongooses, and
water buffalo
water buffalo. Several species are presently threatened or critically endangered like the
sloth bear
Sloth Bear, the Sri Lankan Leopard, the Sri Lankan Elephant, the
dugong
Dugong, and the
sambar
Sambar deer. Some indigenous mammals include the Purple-faced Langur, the Toque Macaque, the Golden Palm Civet, and the Layard's Palm Squirrel. There are also about 25 species of whales and dolphins that inhabit the coastal waters.
Sri Lanka possesses a very rich avian wildlife, with the species count exceeding 430. Most endemic birds are restricted to the wet zone: an area with two monsoons, few rainforests, and high humidity. It is home to native birds like the Ceylon Whistling-thrush, the Yellow-eared Bulbul, and the brown-capped Babbler. The dry zone has a prolonged hot and dry period with only one monsoon; reservoirs draw in various ducks while larger aquatic birds, such as storks, herons, and flamingoes, can easily be seen in National Parks.
Sri Lanka has over 170 species of reptiles, most of which are snakes; the cobra is probably the most well known of their 90-something species. The largest reptiles are the Mugger Crocodile and Saltwater Crocodile. There are several types of lizards, two species of aquatic turtles, and one species of tortoise. More reptiles unique to Sri Lanka include the Pygmy Lizard, the Blossom Krait, the Sri Lankan Pit Viper, and the Sri Lankan's Land Monitor Lizard.
The inland waters of Sri Lanka and other marine ecosystems, like coral reefs, house over 1000 species of fish; about 24 of these species are only found in Sri Lanka. Of the 50-plus species of amphibians found in Sri Lanka, at least half are solely found here like the Paddy Field Frog, Gray-brown Pug-snouted Frog, and the Spurred Tree Frog.


Click here for a list of endangered animals in Sri Lanka.
Even-toed ungulates in Sri Lanka
Wild boar
Chevrotain
Chital
Sambar
Indian muntjac
Carnivores in Sri Lanka
Asiatic jackal
Sloth bear
Jungle cat
Leopard
Indian grey mongoose
Ruddy mongoose
Stripe-necked mongoose
Asian palm civet
Golden palm civet
Rusty-spotted cat
Small indian civet
Fishing cat
Common otter
Dolphins, porpoises, and whales in Sri Lanka
Bridled dolphin
Bunch
Euphrosyne dolphin
Long-beaked dolphin
Blainville's beaked whale
Rough-toothed dolphin
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale
Pygmy killer whale
Bottle-nosed dolphin
Black finless porpoise
Pacific pilot whale
Killer whale
Cuvier's beaked whale
Grey dolphin
Melon-headed whale
False killer whale
Pygmy sperm whale
Fraser's dolphin
Common minke whale
Bryde's whale
Blue whale
Common rorqual
Chinese white dolphin
Bats in Sri Lanka
Lesser asiatic yellow bat
Lesser false vampire bat
Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat
Lesser dog-faced fruit bat
Greater short-nosed fruit bat
Egyptian free-tailed bat
Long-winged tomb bat
Round-eared tube-nosed bat
Black-bearded tomb bat
Lesser large-footed bat
Tickell's bat
Dusky roundleaf bat
Fulvus roundleaf bat
Cantor's roundleaf bat
Kelaart's pipistrelle
Indian roundleaf bat
Indian pipistrelle
Schneider's leaf-nosed bat
Hardwicke's woolly bat
Painted bat
Indian flying-fox
Woolly horseshoe bat
Leschenault's rousette
Naked-rumped pouched bat
Greater asiatic yellow bat
Greater false vampire bat
Hares, pikas, and rabbits in Sri Lanka
Indian hare
Pangolins in Sri Lanka
Indian pangolin
Primates in Sri Lanka
Purple-faced leaf monkey
Slender loris
Toque macaque
Common langur
Elephants in Sri Lanka
Asian elephant
Rodents in Sri Lanka
Ohiya rat
Blanford's rat
Soft-furred rat
Little indian field mouse
Indian gerbil
Ceylon spiny mouse
Layard's palm squirrel
Mayor's mouse
Indian palm squirrel
Dusky palm squirrel
Nolthenius's long-tailed climbing mouse
Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse
Indian bush rat
Indian giant flying squirrel
Travancore flying squirrel
Indian crested porcupine
Nillu rat
Grizzled giant squirrel
Lesser bandicoot rat
Greater bandicoot rat
Dugongs, manatees, and sea cows in Sri Lanka
Dugong
Information about the animals living in Sri Lanka is brought to you by "List of countries of the world", your first stop in discovering all countries and animals of the world.

The animals displayed on this page are grouped in their scientific order. View also countries of the world ordered by:
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