Sri Lanka is one of the most popular destinations to visit in South Asia and the unique wildlife you can spot here plays a large part in all that. In many ways, Sri Lanka offers some of the best safari experiences in all of Asia – so, here’s a look at some of the key forest denizens that make exploring Sri Lanka’s wilds so exciting.
Sri Lankan Leopards
The Sri Lankan leopard is the top predator here in the island’s wilderness and it’s quite an elusive sighting too. National parks like Yala and Wilpattu are your best bet if you want to try your hand at spotting one in the wild.
Sri Lankan Elephants
The Sri Lankan elephant is the largest subspecies of Asian elephants found in the world. These massive pachyderms are most concentrated in a select number of national parks. At locations like Minneriya, they gather is huge super-herds that can be quite the sight to see up-close.
Sloth Bears
The sloth bear is definitely one of the stranger forest denizens you’re likely to spot in the wilds of Sri Lanka. This is a species of bear that specialises in eating insects and is characterised by a long snout and thick shaggy fur that’s black in colour.
Blue Whales
If you’re staying by Sri Lanka’s coastline, perhaps at one of the Bentota hotels on offer such as the Cinnamon Bey Beruwala, you might have a chance of spotting blue whales off the coast. These gigantic marine mammals are actually the largest living organisms ever to have existed!