Cyclone ditwah’s hidden toll: thousands of wild animals perish in sri lanka’s worst floods in decades

While Sri Lanka mourns the loss of 650 people killed by Cyclone Ditwah’s devastating floods and landslides, with another 200 still missing, a largely overlooked environmental tragedy has unfolded across the island nation. Thousands of wild animals have also perished in what experts are calling one of the worst flooding events the Indian Ocean island has experienced in decades.

The wildlife carnage is particularly severe in Somawathiya National Park, one of Sri Lanka’s most critical dry-zone wildlife refuges located within the Mahaweli River Basin. Despite being naturally adapted to seasonal flooding, the park’s ecosystems were overwhelmed by the unprecedented intensity and duration of Ditwah’s floodwaters. Local wildlife officer Amitha Sri Nalaka reported discovering large numbers of dead sambar and spotted deer scattered throughout the park as waters began to recede. “Cattle herders searching for their lost livestock reported seeing dozens of dead spotted deer at single locations in several places,” Nalaka explained, highlighting the scale of the wildlife devastation.

Unlike human casualties, which can be tracked and counted, the true extent of animal deaths may never be fully documented. The disaster underscores how extreme weather events, intensified by climate change, affect not just human communities but entire ecosystems. As Sri Lanka continues its recovery efforts, the wildlife losses serve as a stark reminder that environmental disasters ripple far beyond their immediate human impact, potentially disrupting food chains and biodiversity for years to come.