Evidence of the presence of lions, tigers, hippopotamuses and rhinos in the forests of Sri Lanka

Archaeological evidence from gem mines in the Ratnapura District reveals that in the past, Sri Lanka's forests were inhabited by lions, tigers, hippopotamuses, gavaras and rhinos.

The only surviving archaeological evidence of the existence of lions in Sri Lanka is the molar tooth of a lion found in a gem mine in the Kuruwita, Edandawela, Panvila area in the Ratnapura District in 1936 at the Museum of Natural History in London.

Zoologist Kelum Manamendra Arachchi said that it is believed that lions and hippopotamuses lived in Sri Lanka about 150,000 years ago.