Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

2015.08.28
Affiliation/Position

Primate Research Institute/D1

Name

Liesbeth FRIAS

1. Country/location of visit
Sri Lanka/ Colombo, Sinharaja, Madu Ganga, Hikkaduwa, Bundala, Kataragama, Yala, Handapanagala, Ohiya,
Horton Plains, Trincomalee
2. Research projectInternational Training Program on Terrestrial & Aquatic Wildlife & Primate Conservation
3. Date (departing from/returning to Japan)
2015.07.31 – 2015.08.17 (18 days)
4. Main host researcher and affiliation
Dr. Charmalie Nahallage & Dr. Kamal Ranathunga (Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of SriJayewardenepura Nugegoda, Sri Lanka), Michael Huffman (KU Primate Research Institute)
5. Progress and results of your research/activity (You can attach extra pages if needed)
Please insert one or more pictures (to be publicly released). Below each picture, please provide a brief description.

The First International Training Program on Terrestrial & Aquatic Wildlife & Primate Conservation was held
between August 2nd and August 15th. The main goals were to visit and experience the different habitats, to getfamiliar with the current wildlife management and conservation issues in the country, and to experience SriLankan history and culture.
Schedule
Day 1-2: Colombo
Day 3-4: Sinharaja
Day 5: Madu Ganga
Day 6: Hikkaduwa
Day 7: BundalaDay 8: Katharagama
Day 9: YalaDay 10: Handapanagala
Day 11: Ohiya
Day 12: Horton Plains
Day 13-14: Trincomalee
Day 15-16: Colombo

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

For the opening of the program, we had a nice reception at the Golden Rose in Boralesgamuwa. It started with thelighting of the traditional oil lamp, symbolizing a new beginning. Students of the University of SriJayewardenepura performed traditional dances and we had the first set of lectures, introducing the faunal andfloral diversity in Sri Lanka, their primates, and research in aquatic ecosystems (fig. 1). On the next day, weheaded to Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a national park located in the wet zone of Sri Lanka (fig. 2). It’s a biodiversity
hotspot with Sri Lankan’s last remnants of primary tropical lowland rainforest; over 60% of tree species areendemic and many of these are considered rare. Faunal endemism is also high, with 95% of all endemic birds
recorded here. Among the birds we saw, the most striking were the blue magpie and the jungle fowl, both endemic
to Sri Lanka, and the latter being also the national bird. While talking to people there, I was told that the literalmeaning of Sinharaja was “lion king” and referred to the forest of the “lion-people” of Sri Lanka.
Next stop was Madu Ganga, a coastal wetland ecosystem that supports several species of fish, birds, reptiles andmammals (fig. 3). During our boat trip we saw water monitors, purple-faced langurs and kingfishers. We stopped
at a couple of islets to experience doctor fish treatment, a practice where the fish take dead skin off your feet, andto see how peeled cinnamon is produced locally. After that we headed to Kosgoda, to learn about the sea turtle
conservation project that protects Sri Lankan turtles from extinction. The hatchery collects and rescues eggs sothat they can hatch safely away from predators; after hatching, they are kept in pools for a few days before being
released into the sea. On the next day we visited Hikkaduwa’s fringing coral, where the presence of visitors hasincreased coral’s degradation over the years. We were told that this once was an astonishing place, but now mostof the coral is dying. Degradation has been due to both natural and human activities. Besides coral bleaching, the2004 tsunami caused further damage by depositing debris on the reef. Tourism is also a big problem, with visitors
walking on the reef, collision of glass bottom boats with the reef, and pollution.
During our visit to the dry zone, we took safari tours to two National Parks. The first one was Bundala, an
important place for migratory birds in Sri Lanka, with more then 200 bird species recorded in the park. It also
hosts a large diversity of mammals, among the ones we saw, there were Asian elephants, toque macaques, langurs,
jackals, wild boars, spotted deer and water buffaloes (fig. 4). The second one was Yala (fig. 5), the second largest
national park in Sri Lanka and well known for its rich wildlife and conservation of elephants, leopards and aquaticbirds. Yala has been the center of past civilizations, evidenced by a large number of tanks from the hydraulic andagricultural civilization dating back to the 5 th century BC. In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami caused severe
damage to the park and around 250 people died.
Afterwards we moved to Kataragama, a pilgrimage town sacred to Sinhala Buddhists, Hindu Sri Lankan Tamils,Sri Lankan Moors and Vedda (Sri Lanka’s hunter-gatherers), that contains a shrine dedicated to the guardian deity
in Sri Lanka. We visited this place to observe how primates and humans come together in this temple. We saw
several groups of grey langurs; in Sri Lanka they are restricted to lowland dry and arid regions, mainly in thenorth, east and southeast areas of the country. In a study led by Dr. Nahallage in 2008, it was reported that the grey
langur was the most commonly seen primate species in national parks and surrounding areas. They were described
Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

as more habituated to humans and easier to see in Buddhist and Hindu temples, where they are partiallyprovisioned by people.

Fig. 1. Students of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura performing traditional Sri Lankan dances (top); fantastic
dinner after inauguration ceremony at Golden Rose (bottom left); Dr. Charmalie Nahallage giving us an
introduction to Sri Lankan primates (bottom right). Photo credit: Liesbeth Frias.

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 2. Members of the program heading to Sinharaja (top left); Prof. Sarath Kotagama showing us the different
plant species in the reserve (top right); Sri Lankan blue magpie (middle left); Sri Lankan jungle fowl (middleright); Prof. Gunathilake talking about forest coverage (bottom left); leeches were present both days so we hadmany “de-leeching” sessions during our visits to the forest (bottom middle); frog eggs embedded in foam thatprovides shelter from predators, bacteria and sunlight (bottom right). Photo credit: Liesbeth Frias, Mohomed
Atheeq (bottom middle).

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 3. Madu Ganga (top); local production of cinnamon (middle left); doctor fish treatment (middle right); watermonitor (middle center); deformed turtles kept at Kosgoda (bottom left); turtle hatchery (bottom right). Photo
credit: Liesbeth Frias.
Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 4. Bundala National Park; water buffaloes (center); jeep tour (middle left); Asian elephant (middle center);peacock (middle right); lecture on coral reef morphology and formation by Dr. Kamal Ranatunga (bottom left);the team getting ready for snorkeling at Hikkaduwa (bottom right). Photo credit: Liesbeth Frias, Mohomed Atheeq(bottom left), ITP 2015 (bottom right).
Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 5. Yala National Park. Water buffalo (top left); langur (top right); wild boars (middle); Patanangala, a rockformation in Yala beach that saved the life of people that managed to climb there during the 2004 tsunami. Photo
credit: Liesbeth Frias.

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 6. Kataragama’s tusker has been carrying the casket of Kataragama for 20 years. He broke both his tusks
trying to ram them into a tree trunk a few years ago and since a piece of them broke, he now wears sheaths ofcopper to protect them from further damage (top left); devotees at the entrance of Kataragama temple (top right);
Buddhist monk and devotees coming back from the temple (middle); langurs aggregating under a tree (bottom).
Photo credit: Liesbeth Frias.

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity ReportSupported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

In Ohiya we had a day off to prepare for a small symposium (fig. 8). Each of us chose a topic learnt during thefirst part of the trip and gave a short lecture about it. My topic was about human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka(fig. 7). Sri Lanka has an important position in relation to Asian elephant conservation. More than 10% of theglobal Asian elephant population lives in less than 2% of elephant range, which makes Sri Lanka the country withthe highest density of elephants in the world. Sri Lankans also have a very close association with elephants.
Elephant motifs have been used in art since ancient times. Elephants also hold a central position in the country’s
two main religions: Buddhism and Hinduism. They are consider as a symbol of physical and mental strength,intelligence, good luck and prosperity. The major threat to elephants is habitat loss and fragmentation throughconversion to settlements, commercial agriculture and irrigation or small water reservoirs. All of these activities
increase conflict. On the human side, elephants destroy crops, knock down trees, damage houses and at times evenkill people.
At Ohiya we visited Horton Plains National Park (fig. 8), located in the highlands of Sri Lanka and consisting on
montane grassland and cloud forest. Samba deer is the most common mammal there and the park harbors a large
number of bird species endemic to Sri Lanka and restricted to Horton Plains. Our last visit in Sri Lanka was toPigeon Island National Park (fig. 9), a place with one of the best remaining coral reefs in the country and an
important breeding ground for the rock pigeon, bird that gives the name to the island. While snorkeling we had thechance to see many different species of corals and coral reef fish, including the blacktip reef shark.
This course was extremely well organized and very nicely planned. In two weeks we crossed the whole country,
from the wet zone to the dry zone, passing through the mountains and coral reefs. We got the chance to visit
important places in the company of experts in the field, learning something new every day and taking with us a lot
more than amazing pictures. Sri Lanka is a wonderful place, diverse in many ways. I’m grateful to have had theopportunity to participate in this program.

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 7. Begging elephant (top left); electric fence used to keep wild elephants inside of protected areas (top right);
electric fence knocked down by an elephant (middle left); tree house used for crop guarding (middle right); teamheading to a water reservoir used regularly by elephants (bottom). Photo credit: Liesbeth Frias.
Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 8. Toque macaque (top left) and members of the team watching the monkeys on our way to Ohiya (top right);
presentations about human-elephant conflict (middle left) and coral reef degradation at Hikkaduwa (middle right);
samba deer (bottom left); Horton Plains (bottom right). Photo credit: Liesbeth Frias, Mohomed Atheeq (middleleft and right).

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version

Research Activity Report
Supported by “Leading Graduate Program in Primatology and Wildlife Science”(Please be sure to submit this report after the trip that supported by PWS.)

Fig. 9. Last day at Trincomalee and closing ceremony at the Golf Link Hotel (top); Pigeon Island (bottom left);
Hindu temple on our way back to Colombo (bottom right). Photo credits: Mohomed Atheeq (top), Josue Alejandro
Pastrana (bottom left), Liesbeth Frias (bottom right).

Acknowledgments
I would like to express my gratitude to PWS and Prof. Matsuzawa for supporting this field course. Special thanks
to the local organizers, Dr. Charmalie Nahallage and Dr. Kamal Ranatunga, Prof. Swarna Piyasiri, Dean of theFaculty of Graduate Studies, and Prof. Sampath Amaratunga, Vice Chancellor of the University of SriJayewardenepura. To the invited speakers, Prof. Sarath Kotagama and Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, from theUniversity of Colombo; Prof. Nimal Gunathilaka, Prof. Arjan Rajasurija, Prof. UKG Padmalal, Dr. Enoka
Kudawidanage, Dr. Sisira Ediriweera and Dr. Turney Pradeep Kumara. I would also like to thank Mohomed
Atheeq and Vidyani Lakshika, for their company during the trip, taking care of us during all times and showing us
how amazing Sri Lankan culture is. To Nihal Perera, our driver, for introducing us to Hindi music and patiently
listening to the same 3 songs during the whole trip. To Raveendra Withanachchi for showing us the city on thefirst day and the Physical Anthropology Lab (University of Sri Jayewardenepura) at the end of the trip. To Prof.
Mike Huffman for sharing with us his vast knowledge and experience in Sri Lankan history, culture and wildlife,
and to Tanaka-sensei for providing us with music throughout the trip. Finally, to the wonderful ITP 2015 teammembers. This experience will be memorable because of the presence of every one of you… thank you!

Submit to：report@wildlife-science.org

2014.05.27 version