I had the privilege of reading a recent publication on the wild mammals of Sri Lanka by Dr. Sriyanie Miththapala, who is an internationally renowned conservation biologist, mammologist and author. Although this book is intended for children, I realized that it is certainly a valuable resource for adult readers and teachers, enabling them to learn about the diversity of mammals in Sri Lanka. This book is so interesting and visually appealing that once you pick it up to read, it is hard to put it down. It is full of fascinating facts about our terrestrial and marine mammals and is supplemented with quality photographs of different species in their natural environment. The photographs, in particular, will help children, as well as adult readers, to observe and identify mammals of Sri Lanka, with ease.
Dr. Miththapala has managed to present technical and/or scientific information in simple language, so that the contents can be understood easily by the target audience (i.e., children). This is certainly a challenge that many scientists fail to accomplish in their publications intended for children and the general public. It is a truly enchanting story about the 96 species of wild mammals of Sri Lanka written in an extremely fascinating manner across 257 pages, filled with colour images, and illustrations. The author has specifically targeted the various questions that could arise in a curious child and/or adult reader who wants to understand facts related to animals (i.e., How? Why? What? When? Where?).
The contents of the book start with an interesting foreword from the world-renowned conservation scientist - Dr. John Seidensticker, who is familiar with the mammals of Sri Lanka. (He was also the mentor of Dr. Miththapala.) It is followed by separate prefaces for children and parents by Dr. Miththapala, presenting a simple introduction to the publication and what she expects from it. The main contents explain various facts related to mammals including what they are, how they feed, where they live, their times of activity, how they are named, and geographic aspects related to mammals of Sri Lanka (e.g. their distribution in the island, endemic species). This is followed by a narrative on the various types of threats faced by the wild mammals of Sri Lanka, including threatened species, and how they are protected in the country. The subsequent sections elaborate on specific terrestrial mammal species in groups (e.g. hoofed mammals, wild cats, primates, rodents, flying mammals). The descriptions of individual mammals explain identification features, their feeding habits, interesting behaviours and activity times, specific habitats, geographical distribution, endemicity and conservation status. A chapter on marine mammal species highlights the types of whales, dolphins, and dugongs occurring in the marine waters of Sri Lanka. A separate chapter is dedicated to the 21 species of mammals that are endemic to Sri Lanka. Towards the end of the book is a chapter on animals that cause damage to humans, which enables children to understand aspects related to human-animal conflict.
The book has also provided some challenging activities for children, such as, identifying and matching animal tracks and making a plaster cast of a mammal track. The size of the book (i.e. 8.3 by 5.8 inches, 296 pages) with a hard cover, has made it possible to use it even as a field guide to study mammals in their natural habitats (e.g. forests, scrubland, wetlands), as well as in man-made habitats (e.g. home gardens and urban landscapes).
This unique publication will certainly play an immense role in generating curiosity among children on the wonders of our natural environment and influence them, from an early age, to appreciate and conserve wild animals in Sri Lanka. I state with optimism that this book will eventually inspire several children to pursue careers related to conservation biology, ecology and mammalian studies. I wish to congratulate Dr. Sriyanie Miththapala for her untiring efforts to write and publish this excellent book that will have a lasting impact in inculcating conservation awareness among many generations of children.
- Dr Channa Bambaradeniya
Formerly Head, Regional Species Program
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Asia