February 7, 2013 at 8:20 pm

Picture of the Day: The Sri Lankan Leopard

by twistedsifter

 

THE SRI LANKAN LEOPARD

 

sir lankan leopard Picture of the Day: The Sri Lankan Leopard

Photograph by Rohit Varma on 500px

 

In this beautiful capture by photographer Rohit Varma we see a Sri Lankan leopard in Wilpattu National Park. The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka.

Classified as Endangered by IUCN, the population is believed to be declining due to numerous threats including poaching for trade and human-leopard conflicts. No subpopulation is larger than 250 individuals. The leopard is colloquially known as Kotiya in Sinhala and Chiruththai in Tamil.

 

 

picture of the day button Picture of the Day: The Sri Lankan Leopard