Sri Lanka has many interesting mammals other than Asian Elephants and Leopards to offer enthusiastic mammal watchers. There is a total of 126 species of land mammals recorded to date in Sri Lanka, including 21 species endemic to the Island.
It is possible to watch many of the diurnal mammals listed below on our usual bird or wildlife watching tours. However, if a keen mammal watcher or wildlife observer is interested in finding most or all of the mammals in this list, which includes some difficult species (due to being rare and/or elusive) and nocturnal species, it is best to take a special mammal watching tour with us.
Such a specialized tour can be tailored by replacing and/or adding special sites in the given itineraries according to the species wanted by the client . Our team members have acquired special knowledge of such sites to find the difficult and nocturnal species, and thus enable mammal watchers to have a better chance of finding these interesting animals.
Our most popular special mammal watching tours during the past 12 years have been on the lines of looking especially for nocturnal species such as small cats (Fishing Cat, Rusty-spotted Cat and Jungle Cat), civets, lorises, bats, flying squirrels and other rodents. On our tours we carefully avoid counting the hybrid small cats (between the wild and the domestic F. catus) which are fairly freely encountered roaming in the wild areas close to human habitation as well as in the wilderness areas. We search for only the true wild individuals of the small cats at the habitats, those correctly baring their species-specific features. (See text box below for more details).
Be aware!Hybrid Small Wild Cats |
| During our experience in carrying out highly successful mammal tours for over a decade in Sri Lanka our Team has learnt that there are hybrid small cats between each of our three wild species and the domestic cat Felis catus, which are encountered fairly freely, roaming in wild areas close to human habitation as well as in wilderness areas. We have found a high number of hybrids with both Rusty Spotted Cat and Fishing Cat, and a little less with Jungle Cat, in the wild areas.
Some of these hybrids are very similar to the respective wild forms in their appearance. Therefore, separating and identifying a true wild cat safely needs great care in the dark and very good and preferably prolonged views if someone is not very familiar with these three species. It is only from certain specific features that it is possible to tell safely whether the small cat under observation is a hybrid or true wild animal.
Our mammal tour leaders are very conversant with these methods. They search for only the true wild individuals of the small cats, those correctly bearing their species-specific features, during our exploration of their habitats. Our leaders are very knowledgeable in explaining the differences between the hybrid and wild individuals to our clients. This also means they count only the true wild cats on their mammal lists.
Note: This is a reference guide, and not for sale |
When a prolonged view is not possible then it is necessary to quickly compare these features of the true wild cats and of the hybrids to tell them apart accurately on location. After studying these hybrid cats carefully in field observations and in our photo collection we have developed a successful identification method to separate the true wild individuals and the hybrids in poor light conditions. We have now compiled an illustrated guide to safely identify them apart in our night explorations and a reference copy will be with our tour leaders on mammal tours.These tours have been highly successful owing to the unrivalled knowledge and experience of our Expert Tour Leaders in the identification of mammals, their habits and habitats. The tour reports of some of our special mammal watching tours can be viewed at http://www.mammalwatching.com/Oriental/orientsrilanka.html
The table below shows the number of possible sites for each species and the number of chances available to try for them in each itinerary.
The list below follows classification, taxonomy and nomenclature of species in this list follow Mammals of the World:
a Checklist (2004) A. Duff & A. Lawson. The sequence of taxa is based on The Mammals of the Indomalayan Region (1992) by G.B. Corbet and J. E. Hill. References to recent revision in a few taxa are given after the table.
Note: If the number of ‘chances’ for a species is more than the number of ‘sites’ this indicates that the possibility of finding that species is significantly high and thus it can be expected to be seen on most of our tours. Such species usually seen on most tours are also indicated with: #
E – Endemic to Sri Lanka
| Species | Number of possible sites and chances in each itinerary | |||||||
| Itinerary 1 | Itinerary 2 | Itinerary 3 | Itinerary 4 | |||||
| Sites | Chances | Sites | Chances | Sites | Chances | Sites | Chances | |
| Indian Hare Lepus nigricollis | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 6 |
| Sri Lanka Giant Squirrel Ratufa macroura | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 8 |
| India Palm squirrel Funambulus palmarum | 15 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 20 | 10 | 12 |
| Sri Lanka Jungle Squirrel Funambulus layardi ¹ E | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Dusky-Stripped jungle Squirrel Funambulus sublineatus | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
| Indian Giant Flying Squirrel Ptaurista philippensis | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Eastern House Mouse Mus musculus | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| House Rat Rattus rattus | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Indian Gerbil Tatera indica | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Indian Crested Porcupine Hystrix indica | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Asian Palm Civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| Golden Palm-Civet Paradoxurus zeylonensis E | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jungle Cat Felis chaus | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Rusty-spotted Cat Felis rubiginosa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Fishing Cat Felis viverrina | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Leopard Panthera pardus | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| Indian Grey Mongoose Herpestes edwardsii | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Ruddy Mongoose Herpestes smithii | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 6 |
| Indian Brown Mongoose Herpestes fuscus | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Striped-Necked Mongoose Herpestes vitticollis | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Golden Jackal Canis aureus | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Sloth Bear Melursus ursinus | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Asian House Shrew Suncus murinus | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 |
| Horsfield’s Shrew Crocidura horsfieldi | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus | 14 | 20 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 24 | 8 | 12 |
| Greater Short-nosed Fruit Bat Cynopterus sphinx | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Woolly Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus luctus | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Rufous Horseshoe Bat Rhinolophus rouxii | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Dusky Roundleaf Bat Hipposideros ater | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Indian Roundleaf Bat Hipposideros lankadiva | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Round-eared Tube-nosed Bat Murina cyclotis | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Painted Bat Kerivoula picta | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
| Hardwicke’s Woolly Bat Kerivoula hardwickii | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Red Slender Loris Loris tardigradus E | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Grey Slender Loris Loris lydekkerianus | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Toque Macaque Macaca sinica E | 10 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 10 |
| Tufted Grey Langur Semnopithecus priam | 8 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Purple-Faced Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus vetulusE | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 8 |
| Eurasian Wild Boar Sus scrofa | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| Sri Lanka White-spotted Chevrotain Moschiola meminna ²E | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 4 |
| Sri Lanka Yellow-spotted Chevrotain Moschiola kathygre ²E | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 4 |
| Sambur Cervus unicolor | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
| Chital Axis axis | 8 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 2 |
| Indian Muntjac Muntiacus muntjak | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| Domestic Water Buffalo Bubalus bubalis | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Asian Elephant Elephas maximus | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
- Srinivasulu C, Chakraborty S, and Pradhan M S. 2004. Checklist of Sciurids (Mammalia: Rodentia: Sciuridae) of South Asia. Zoo’s Print Journal 19: 1351-1360.
- Groves C P and Meijaard E. 2005. Interspecific variation in Moschiola, the Indian Chevrotain. The Raffles Bul. of Zoology. Supliment 12: 413-421.