National Zoological Gardens of Sri Lanka Dehiwala Zoo (National Zoo of Sri Lanka) species list 2022

As of 2022 the total number of species on display at the National Zoological Gardens Of Sri Lanka has plummeted to 152 minus the numerous species of fish, that I was unable to count versus the 350 species in 2005. However this number does include the species of fish that I have yet to be able to count. Over the last few years the zoos aquarium "Min Madura" has become quite bare. However several species have been moved backstage and off display.
The species on display as of 2 months ago are as follows;

Mammals:

Sri Lankan Elephant
Domestic Rabbits
Orangutan
Common Chimpanzee
Lar Gibbon
Japanese Macaque
Toque Macaque
Hamadryas Baboon
Silvered Leaf Monkey (ssp. cristatus)
Purple-faced Leaf Monkey
Tufted Grey Langur
Brown Capuchin
White-bellied Spider Monkey
White-headed Brown Lemur (albifrons)
Ring-tailed Lemur
Brown Bear
Sloth Bear
Golden Jackal
Tiger
African Lion
Fishing Cat
Jungle Cat
Rusty-spotted Cat
Eurasian Otter
Golden Palm Civet
Small Indian Civet
Californian Sealion
Domestic Horses
Donkeys
Mule
Przewalski's Horse
Chapman's Zebra
Eastern Black Rhino
Bactrian Camel
Guanaco
Reticulated Giraffe
Pigmy Hippo
Nile Hippo
Sambar
Hog Deer
Spotted deer
Japanese sika dear (labelled Japanese spotted deer)
Indian Muntjac
Sri Lankan Mouse Deer
Wild boar
African Buffalo
Nilgai
Black buck
Lechwe
Greater Kudu
Arabian Oryx
Scimitar-horned Oryx
Squirrel Monkey
Grey Kangaroo

Birds:

Ostrich
Emu
Southern Cassowary
Spot-billed Pelican
Mute Swan
Black Swan
Lesser Whistling Duck
Domestic Ducks
Domestic Geese
Greater Flamingo
Scarlet Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
Brahminy Kite
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Sarus Crane
Ring-necked Pheasant
Silver Pheasant
Great Argus
Blue Peafowl
Sri Lankan Junglefowl
Bantam Chickens
Common Quail
Barred Buttonquail (suscitator)
Helmeted Guineafowl
Victoria Crowned Pigeon
Spot-necked Dove
Barbary Dove
domestic Pigeons
Rainbow Lorikeet
Budgie mutations
Cockatiel
Eclectus
Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Moluccan Cockatoo
Rose rigged parakeet (AKA Indian Ringneck and several colour mutations)
Alexandrine
African Grey Parrot
Senegal Parrot
Fisher's Lovebird
Sun Conure
Blue-fronted Amazon
Scarlet Macaw
Green-winged Macaw
Military Macaw
Gold and Blue Macaw
Barn Owl
Brown Fish Owl
Great Horned Owl
Spot-bellied Eagle Owl
Brown Wood Owl
Malabar Pied Hornbill
Sri Lankan Grey Hornbill
Violet Touraco
Green Touraco
Red crested Touraco
Lesser Hill Mynah
House Crow (the albino crow that was once on display has been replaced with a light brown morph)

Herptiles:

Indian Green Frog (hexadactylus)
Indian Skipper Frog (cyanophlyctis)
Common Paddy Frog (limnocharis)
Hourglass Treefrog (cruciger)
Jerdon's Bullfrog (crassus)
Black-spined Toad (melanostictus)

Mugger
Cuban Crocodile (Imported as Morelet's crocodile but definitely are Cubans)
African Dwarf Crocodile
Gharial
False Gharial
Salt-water Crocodile
Komodo Dragon
Green Iguana (red mutation)
Rhinoceros Iguana
Reticulated Python
Malagasy ground boa
Golden tree snake
Carpet python
Ball python
Red spitting cobra
Sri Lankan Python (ssp. pimbura)
Green Anaconda
SL Green Tree Viper
Russell's Pit-viper (Daboia russelii)
Merrem's Hump-nosed Viper
Indian Cobra (including several albino cobras)
Blue Krait (Bungarus caeruleus)
Sri Lankan Rat Snake (ssp. maximus)
Trinket Snake (Coelognathus helena)
Common Bronzeback (ssp. tristis)
Green Vine Snake (ssp. nasutus)
Brown Vine Snake (ssp. pulverulenta)
Sri Lankan Cat Snake (ssp. ceylonensis)
Forsten's Cat Snake (Boiga forsteni)
Galapagos Giant Tortoise
African Spurred Tortoise
Sri Lankan Star Tortoise
Red-eared Terrapin
Indian Pond Terrapin (ssp. trijuga)
Indian Flapshell Turtle (ssp. punctata)
Green Sea Turtle

With the amounting financial crisis, these numbers will drop even more, it was decided to move many animals to the Pinnawala zoo which is about 600 meters away from the elephant orphanage, which was established in 2015. Even though the Pinnawala zoo is also owned by the government, it is a much better facility and currently houses mostly native species, and will hopefully be able to provide the animals with much more space than what the city zoo can.

In addition to these species there are several species off display;

Gray slender loris
Red slender loris
Rhinoceros hornbill
White-crowned hornbill
Northern plains gray langur
Agile gibbon
Müller's gibbon
Pygmy marmoset
Golden-handed tamarin
Grivet
Crab-eating macaque
Bonnet macaque
Mandrill
Cotton-top tamarin
Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel
Indian crested porcupine

Contrary to all sources the brown bear is labeled as Ursus arctos horribilis and not Ursus arctos syriacus, I personally believe the brown bears at the zoo are neither horribilis or syriacus. A single horribilis was imported in 1996, but subsequent imports have been from Latvia. According to my research zoos in Latvia only house arctos. So it is most likely that our brown bears are either zoomix or arctos.

The orangutans at the zoo are pure Bornean, and have been several imports over the last few years, the latest being a pair from Malaysia in 2001 in exchange for a pair each of Sri Lankan Leopard and Sloth Bear.
A second were imported in 2002 from Ragunan Zoo in Indonesia in exchange for 4 Sri Lankan Leopards (Raja the male SL leopard at the Singapore zoo, is descended from these 4 leopards) and 2 Sloth bears, I have only ever seen a maximum of 4 orangutan at one time, however there most definitely are more at the zoo because there have been a constant stream of births one almost every other year, indicating the presence of several breeding females. Additionally there has been no export of Orangutan out of the country and no other zoo in Sri Lanka houses them.

There have been many developments over the last few years and many of the old, disgusting exhibits have now been demolished in favour of new exhibits. However these new exhibits are still out dated, but are a wold apart compared to the former exhibits
The zoo no longer houses Red-necked Wallabies and their exhibit is not inhabited by a single grey kangaroo.

Construction as begun where the porcupine exhibit once stood, there is no indication as to what they are building, my assumption is that the zoo is constructing new pygmy hippo exhibits, the zoo no longer houses 12 pygmy hippos, several of them have been moved to the safari park in Ridiyagama.

The small aviary type exhibits which housed Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel (grizzled giant squirrels) and ring tailed lemurs, that once stood opposite the Arabian oryx has now been demolished i favour of a large aviary that now houses white peafowl and several species of parakeet.

The Patas monkey has been replaced by a bachelor group of Silvered Leaf Monkey, this was inevitable as the troop breeds very regularly. There are currently 15 on display and there is most likely a second troop off display as 8 of them were exported to China in 2019. When i visited 2 months ago there were 2 babies in the troop.

The jackal exhibit has been demolished to make way for the new common hippo exhibit that was constructed late last year. the jackals were moved into the leopard exhibit, and the leopards were sent to the Pinnawala zoo.

Our last Sable antelope is no longer at the zoo, he has either passed away or been moved to Ridiyagama Safari Park. The wall between his exhibit and the guanacos was brought down, allowing the camelids access to a larger paddock.

Joa the African Elephant bull was also moved to the safari park were he now roams unchained with the parks herd of Sri Lankan Elephants.

Unfortunately as soon as the Siamang went off display a single taxidermy Siamang was put on display at the zoos museum. There is a chance that the remaining Siamang is off display or has also passed away.

The zoo no longer exhibits Crested Serpent-eagle, Mountain Hawk-eagle and Grey-headed Sea Eagles, additionally the zoo no longer has aviaries crowded with dozens of White-bellied sea eagles and Brahminy kites. There are no around 4-6 of each species.

 

I was able to get in contact with the zoo, in regards to some of the species kept backstage. I was provided with the following list of species that were held back stage;

Mammals
South African impala (1 animal left)
Springbok
Oriental small-clawed otter
Colombian white-faced capuchin
Sooty mangabey
Manchurian Sika (a single female separate to the Japanese sika nippon)
Green monkey
St Vincent agouti
White-headed brown lemur
Striped hyaena (1 female)
Grey gibbon (abbotti) (1 female)
Defassa waterbuck (at the safari park)
Serval
Formosan macaque (2 males)
Collared peccary (1 male)
Raccoon

Birds
Greater Vasa
Jungle crow
Blue eared pheasant
Lady Amherst's pheasant
Golden pheasant
Crested fireback
Swinhoe's pheasant
Fulvous whistling duck
Black-throated laughing thrush (1 female)
Red lory
Bourke's parrot
Crimson-rumped waxbill'
Red junglefowl
White-crested laughing thrush
Purple-headed starling
Eastern rosella
Crested caracara
Superb parrot
Red-rumped parrot
Purple swamphen
Jambu fruit dove
Citron-throated toucan
Barred button quail
Red-billed magpie

Reptiles
Sri Lanka ground snake
Gaboon viper
Mangrove snake
Flying snake
Mottled rock rattlesnake
Kramer's pit viper
East African green mamba
Common kingsnake
King cobra
Okinawa habu

They were also able to clarify information regarding the following species;

The capuchin on display is not a tufted capuchin but in fact a Black-striped capuchin.
2 of the zoos chimpanzees are Central chimpanzees.
The giant tortoise is in fact one of the very few female Volcán Alcedo giant tortoises (Chelonoidis niger vandenburghi) in captivity.

 

Over the last few months the zoo holdings have changed slightly.

Firstly the Aquarium (Min Madura) has undergone many changes. The tanks in the hall before the rotunda now house;
Tank 1 - Vagabond butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus), Striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus), Three-band anemonefish (Amphiprion tricinctus) and a few other species I was unable to identify including a species of wrasse.
Tank 2 - Tinfoil barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii)
Tank 3 - Black piranha (Serrasalmus rhombeus)
Tank 3 - Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula)
Tank 4 - Zebra tilapia (Heterotilapia buttikoferi)
Tank 5 - Indo-Pacific tarpon (Megalops cyprinoides)
Tank 6 - Walking catfish (Clarias batrachus), Redtail catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus)
Tank 7 - Lagoon triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus), Queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), Barramundi (Lates calcarifer), and a species of Porcupinefish
Tank 8 - Golden trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus), Banded grunter (Pomadasys furcatus)
Tank 9 - Flavescent peacock (Aulonocara stuartgranti), Red Zebra Cichlid (Maylandia estherae), Zebra mbuna (Maylandia zebra), Electric yellow cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus), Demanson's Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni)
Tank 10 - Neon tetra (Paracheirodon innesi), Black tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi), Buenos Aires tetra (Hyphessobrycon anisitsi), Harlequin rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha)
Pond along the right hand side wall - Walking catfish (Clarias batrachus)

The rotunda now contains several combined tanks;
Tank 1 - Indian Ocean oriental sweetlips (Plectorhinchus vittatus), Sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis), Humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis), Threadfin butterflyfish (Chaetodon auriga), Raccoon butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula), Striped eel catfish (Plotosus lineatus) and a species of wrasse
Tank 2 - A species of lobster
Tank 3 - Arapaima (Arapaima gigas)
Tank 4 - Zebra moray (Gymnomuraena zebra), Laced moray (Gymnothorax favagineus), Snowflake moray (Echidna nebulosa)
Centre pond - Blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), Indo-Pacific tarpon (Megalops cyprinoides), Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis), a species of catshark and sting ray.

The large river tank right after the rotunda now house a large variety of native fish including;
Ceylonese combtail (Belontia signata)
Ceylon logsucker (Garra ceylonensis)
Black-lined barb (Systomus pleurotaenia)
Black mahseer (Tor khudree)
Sinhala Barb (Dawkinsia singhala)
Striped Rasbora (Rasbora dandia)
Martenstyn's Barb (Systomus martenstyni)

The last hall of the aquarium has been replaced with native fish of varying levels of rarity. The tanks in the last hall now house individual tanks for the following species;
Ceylonese combtail (Belontia signata)
Ceylon logsucker (Garra ceylonensis)
Bandula barb (Pethia bandula)
Black ruby barb (Pethia nigrofasciata)
Cuming's barb (Pethia cumingii)
Barred danio (Devario pathirana)
Cherry barb (Puntius titteya)
Golden rasbora (Rasboroides vaterifloris)
Blotched filamented barb (Dawkinsia srilankensis)

The leopards have moved back into their old exhibit next to the sloth bears. There were 2 leopards on display and one in their night holding area.
The Jackals that occupied the leopard enclosure have since been moved into the fishing cat exhibit.
Due to this shuffle the fishing cats have been moved into the rusty spotted cat exhibit and the rusty spotted cats have moved backstage.

A group of Indian giant flying squirrels (Petaurista philippensis) have moved into the Sri Lankan Grey Hornbill aviary, and the hornbills have moved backstage.

A single male Red Junglefowl is now on exhibit with the Red-crested turacos.

The new male Jaguar from BestZoo is on display after a month long quarantine period.

A pair of East African crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps) which were a species formerly in the zoo's collections a few years ago but had since perished, have now been acquired and exhibited in the empty butterfly greenhouse.