Meet our own 'Endemic' Super Stars in the zoo

Endemic animals are biodiversity markers —- indeed, the jewels — of a country’s wildlife, since endemics are specific to one country on the map. You can see a great deal of such endemic wildlife in our zoo. This week, ZooLander follows the endemics you can see in our zoo, and their relatives in the wild...

The grey hornbill is a zoo inhabitant that puzzles visitors with its strange looking oversized beak. Always hyperactive and jumping here and there in its cage, this bulky bird is self-importantly attracting visitor attention, but have you ever realized why it’s special?

Well, as a Sri Lankan, you definitely have a reason to be proud of the grey hornbill, because it is a unique bird that cannot be found anywhere else in the world —- a true Sri Lanka endemic. An animal or plant is called ‘endemic’ to a geographical area (usually a country), if it is naturally found exclusively in that specific area. Sri Lanka is well known for its high endemism, even though it’s a small island that has already been nominated as one of the 34 Biodiversity Hotspots of the world, highlighting high density endemism. The zoo is home to a few endemic animals and you just have to pay attention to these ‘super stars’ that hail from Sri Lanka.

There are other endemic birds in the zoo besides the grey hornbill and most of them can be observed in the zoo’s walk-in-aviary. Ground-dwelling jungle-fowls will be the first endemics to greet you as you step in the zoo’s free-living bird area. They’ve totally forgotten their coyness, and will tolerate you until you get really close. The jungle-fowl breeds in the zoo successfully and a mother with its hatchlings were observed this week in the aviary. The jungle-fowl is Sri Lanka’s national bird and the most wide-spread endemic feathered-friend.

There will also be small greenish birds flying over your head flashing like small rockets, with their sharp calls. When they come out to feed on fruits provided in the trays, you will be astounded by the arresting beauty of Sri Lanka’s endemic birds. This little rocket is the Sri Lanka hanging parrot, also called lorikeet.

The lorikeet is slightly smaller than a normal konda-kurulla (red-vented bulbul). It’s one of the noisiest fast fliers in the forests and remote villages, a King to the sky. A pair of endemic yellow-eared bulbuls will also play hide and seek with you in the aviary without any fuss. Yellow-eared bulbuls can be seen only in the mountainous areas of Sri Lanka.

Endemic mammals

Mouse deer (meeminna), golden palm civet (kalavedda), toque monkey (rilava) and purple-faced leaf monkey (kalu wandura) are the zoo’s representatives of mammalian endemics. The mouse deer was upgraded as an endemic species very recently. Getting an animal declared ‘endemic’ is not an easy task. It involves much scientific research and a rigorous process of convincing the scientific community. These days even DNA testing is done to confirm whether an animal or bird is unique to a particular country, by comparison of DNA patterns with other similar species.

The toque monkey and purple leaf monkey, though many consider them a menace, are also endemic to Sri Lanka. The zoo’s monkey clan that lives in an old cage near the old quarry, is fascinating to watch for their behaviour, irrespective of the reputation they come with.

How about fish?

The aquarium is also a place to observe many beautiful endemic freshwater fish. Freshwater fish endemism in Sri Lanka is high ——- 54% of the total fish species in Sri Lanka being endemic. The streams and rivers are a haven for some 84 species of freshwater fish, and 44 of them can be found only in our country. The freshwater area of the aquarium is a haven for some of these endemic fish species. They are small, yet act as ambassadors that tell the world of the beauty of Sri Lanka’s endemic fish varieties. Some of these beautiful fish, such as the cherry barb were taken out by exotic fish breeders, who made hybrids of them. These fish are very popular among those who rear exotic fish as a hobby.

Some of these endemic fish, such as the Barred danio and Banduala barb are endangered and restricted to a few streams in the wild. Invasive alien species and pesticides remain the worst threats to the endemic fresh fish in Sri Lanka’s natural environment.

Creeping endemics

The reptile zoo is home to more endemic species. The Sri Lanka krait known as muhudu karawala is a scary attraction in this corner of the zoo. Although not big (its length is only about 80cm) it is the most venomous species of Sri Lankan snakes. Five milligrams of the krait’s venom is enough to kill a man, with the equivalent cobra venom being12mg. This means that the Sri Lankan krait can be twice as deadly as the cobra, though it rarely stings humans. None of these snakes sting humans with intent though unfortunate incidents occur accidentally.

The Sri Lanka green pit viper is another gorgeous snake found in our zoo. With its green body perfectly blending with the foliage of the tree in its tank, you may sometimes find it difficult to spot this somewhat large snake. Most of the endemic snakes that can be found in the wilds are not venomous. Sri Lanka has 85 species of snakes and 47 of them are endemic.

Endemic subspecies

All animals and plants continuously evolve. ‘Species’ denotes a biological classification used for a group of animals or plants having common characteristics and are able to breed together to produce fertile (capable of reproducing) offspring, so that they maintain their ‘uniqueness’ compared to other groups. There is another category called ‘sub-species’ that has physically distinguishable populations that are genetically distinct within a species. When a species is made up of distinct, geographically separate groups which are yet not distinct enough to constitute separate species, the term sub-species is employed.

The zoo has many such sub-species endemics as well. The ornate flying snake (polmal karawala) and leopard (panthera pardus kotiya) are such endemic sub-species. What about animals that are endemic to other countries? For example, the lemurs are endemic to Madagascar. Pay close attention to the name boards of the animals in their separate areas, and if their distribution is marked as being in only one country, then that animal is endemic to that specific nation on the map...

Published on LakbimaNews on 28.03.2010