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Mammals
Mammals
Mammals
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Red Giant Kangaroos (Macropus rufurs) and Wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus) represent marsupials (metatherians) who gives birth to partially developed babies which crawl in to mother's belly pouch for further development and nourishment. These two species live in harmony in the same enclosure delighting visitors with their hopping movements using hind limbs and large strong tails. All other mammals in zoo are belongs to group of placental mammals (eutheria). Primates (Lemurs, Monkeys and Apes) are the busiest mammals in the zoo. The two types of lemurs found here are Brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus albifrons) and Ring tailed lemur (Lemur catta). Brown Lemurs are live in a small island separated by a water moat while Ring tailed lemurs are located in an enclosure surrounded by an iron mesh. allowing visitors to have close looks on them.
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| Their portable body size, large eyes and bushy white tail with black rings make thoughts in visitors to pet them. They are themed animals and require lots of human attention. There are around 16 varieties of monkeys including two endemic species of Sri Lanka; Purple Faced Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus vetulus) and Toque Monkey (Macaca sinica). Spider monkeys have (Ateles belzebuth) drawn attention of the visitors among most of all other monkeys because of their swinging by prehensile (griping) tails and their graceful movements from branch to branch. It's nice to see monkeys in family groups with mothers caring babies. Gibbons, Orang Utans and Chimpanzees are the great apes could see in the zoo. Gibbons make visitors to feel that they are in mid of a forest because of frequent sounds could hard long distances that gibbons make. "Bulu" the Orang Utang lives alone in his enclosure after his wife's death however pair of pigmy Orangutans were came to live in the new enclosure next to it. "Tony" chimpanzee was one of the special characters of the zoo performing for years now has replaced by chimpanzee "Sanju" because Tony has grown up and difficult to handle. Sanju also one of hand reared chimpanzee neglected by his mother is still learning to perform in the chimpanzee show. It is one of the characters that visitors mostly request the presence in birthday parties at the zoo. | |||||||||
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Cat family (family Felidae) members are prominent among carnivores in the zoo. Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya), African Lion (Panthera leo), Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and Jaguar (Panthera onca) are the big cats found in the zoo. Both orange and white forms of Bengal Tigers could see here. The Sri Lankan leopard colloquially known as "Kotiya" and "Diviyā" in Sinhala is a subspecies of leopard native to Sri Lanka and is the country's top predator. Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), Rusty spotted cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi) and Jungle cat (Felis chaus kelaarti) are the small cats in the zoo, represent wild life of Sri Lanka. Golden Jackal (Canis aureus lanka) and Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) are the members of family Canidae found in the zoo. Sloth Bear (Melursus Ursinus inornatus) is the only bear species found in forests in Sri Lanka among the bears in the zoo. It is a honey lover and possesses adaptations to collect honey and feed | ||||||||
| on insects, fruits, roots and flowers. Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) and California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) are the aquatic carnivores in the zoo. The way that they swim, collect fish and even sleep delights visitors. Raccoon, Golden Palm Civet, Sri Lankan Small Civet Cat, Ocelot, African Serval Cat, Toddy Cat, Ring Tailed Coati and Slender-tailed Meerkat are some of other carnivores could observe here. | |||||||||
| Hoofed mammals maintain the total number of mammals in a high position. They are mammals that have odd and even number of hooves. Depending on the number of hooves they are classified as odd-toed (Artiodactyla) and even-toed (Perisodactyla). When step in to the zoo visitors eye contacts with 2 pairs of Chapman’s Zebra (Equus burchelli antiquorum) one of the odd-toed mammal. Their body colour pattern, behaviors like chasing each other, gallops, high pitched barks and also well landscape enclosures adds scenic beauty to the entrance. Visitors do not miss the chance of pose in to a photograph with them. The pair of Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) in the zoo has drawn special attraction of the visitors by their huge body size and two horns which made up of keratin. Domestic Ass (Mule), African Wild Ass (Donkey), Przewalsk’s Wild Horse and Pony are the other odd-toed mammals could see here. |  |
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Deer species are the majority of the even-toed (order Artiodactyla) mammals which includes Mouse Deer (Moschiola meminna), one of the endemic species in Sri Lanka. Deer species are live in herds with members of different ages and always in alert. The antlers most of the males bare give elegance to the herd. The Greater Kudu males bare large twisted horns and have large manes running along their throats give richness to the animal section. Visitors don't miss to see the tallest of all land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant, Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata) at the zoo. Unfortunately we missed our male Giraffe recently, who was a successful breeder and we are looking for a male Giraffes to accompany with the females. We are proud to have pair of Two Humped Camels (Camellus bactrianus) who are native to north eastern Asia. Visitors enjoy seen them walking with their gait and their widened feet. |
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| Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious capensis) and Pygmy Hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis liberiensis) are the semi aquatic Artiodactyls found here spend most of the time in the water. Oryx species, Nilgais, Antelopes and Collared Peccaries are some of the other even-toed mammals could observed here.
Some rodents like Indian Crested Porcupine (largest rodent found in Sri Lanka) and Giant Squirrel (Ratufa macroura) native to Sri Lanka and some Lagomorphs also contribute to the vast diversity of the zoo. Image Gallery |
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