Sri Lanka's iconic leopard, 'Panthera pardus kotiya', an island symbol and formidable predator, has witnessed a horrific increase in murders. The conservationists have reported that the recent surge, apart from threatening the survival of the species that had already been listed as vulnerable, has been upsetting the fine balance in Sri Lanka's ecosystems.
Recently, an organised group of suspected poachers was apprehended by wildlife officials in the Maduru Oya National Park while in their possession was a freshly skinned carcass of a leopard. Experts are convinced that this was no lonely episode but rather a symptom of the new pattern of selective poaching driven by the black market trade in leopard parts. "This is no longer by kill trapping or accident killings," accused Sethil Muhandiram, a senior conservationist working for LEOPOCON. "There is increasing evidence to show that leopards are being killed for their skins, claws, teeth, and other body parts. If this is what will keep occurring, the species will be at the point of crisis."
A detailed study analysing 100 leopard fatalities in the years 2001-2023 has some revealing lessons. 73% of the leopard fatalities occurred outside the safe areas in the very areas where enforcement and monitoring are weakest. Snaring was the most common reason at 77%, followed by poisoning at 8% and shooting at 6.6%. Very few were electrocuted, beaten up, and run over by motor vehicles. The wildlife officials also refer to an alarming geographical shift. Three leopard fatalities in the Nuwara Eliya Hakgala Division were reported in 2025 alone after nil in 2024, pointing to a menacing expansion of the areas of human-leopard conflict.
Other than their sentimental value, leopards are also ecologically important as top
-grade predators, controlling the numbers of their prey and supporting biodiversity. Without them, there would be domino effects impacting the smaller creatures, the health of the forests, and even water supplies relying on healthy forests. Leopards are economically important too as the foundation of ecotourism, supporting rural livelihoods and no doubt earning heavily for the national purse. "Each lost leopard is not simply an environmental tragedy; it damages the nation's tourism and natural heritage," said a senior wildlife official, who did not want to be identified.
Human-leopard conflict is a perennial issue, most characteristically in tea and paddy fields where the leopard will kill the livestock. For rural families, the loss of a goat or cow would be the loss of a month's wages, and so others will lay traps or seek revenge by resorting to poison. "People are being forced to choose to save their livelihood or wildlife. That isn't a very fair choice," stated one spokesman for the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS). "We need to work out procedures by which farmers are compensated when there are losses so that they won't have to kill these animals."
Sri Lanka has introduced its first Livestock Insurance Scheme in August 2025 in partnership with UNDP, DWC, WNPS, and LOLC. The scheme seeks to avert retaliatory killing of leopards by compensating farmers in no time if they lose livestock to leopards. The program also covers predator-proof enclosure installation, community-level cattle banks, and outreach in high-conflict areas. "The idea is not to compensate for losses but to prevent their occurring in the first instance," the UNDP country director said at the launch.
Though the new policy has been a well-received one, the experts call for an immediate multipronged reaction to combat the crisis effectively. Strict law enforcement, upped surveillance by camera traps along with drones, area-level consciousness, and coordinating relationship creation at the grassroots level are the characteristics for bringing in the long-term initiatives.
Conservationists are adamant that the clock is ticking. With less than 800 wild adult leopards, each death isn't the loss of an individual but one step closer to extinction. "This isn't saving a species," Muhandiram said again. "It's saving an ecosystem, an economy, and a national identity. You can't bring the leopard back once it's gone." A Leopard killing spree becomes wake-up call for Sri Lanka. The problem demands speed in coordination among the government agencies, the conservation fraternity, the local communities, and the citizens of Sri Lanka. Improvement in enforcement, provision of economic substitutes, and awareness building can turn the tide. The destiny of the Sri Lankan leopards hangs by a thread for the moment. Whether they are the island's eternal symbol and disappear in the sands of time is contingent on today.