Dazzling dragonflies

Pix: Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne

The Marsh Dancer gracefully does a double twist as it lands on a fern leaf and out of the corner of our eyes, we see the bright orange Spin-tufted Skimmer resting near the bark of a tree. Sauntering down the trail leading to the 'Maha Devi Temple', we spot an Asian Pintail encircling its prey with sheer dexterity and we were breathless to observe the Blue Ringtail damselfly attracting its mate.

A nature trek down the Thalangama Wetland is a dragonfly of an experience which has been potentially popular amongst tourists during recent times.

Familiar hobbies like bird and butterfly watching have firmly placed Sri Lanka as a nature-friendly destination. Today, the island's natural beauty has brought nature-loving tourists to indulge in the recreation of dragonfly and damselfly watching.

"Dragonflies are second only to butterflies in their widespread appeal and public appreciation" were comments expressed by Jetwing's Eco Holidays CEO Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, Sri Lanka's wildlife expert and professional photographer, who emphasised that this recreational pursuit has a big market overseas.

"Dragonflies are nature's predators because they not only feed on mosquitoes and small insects which make them beneficial in controlling the population of harmful insects like mosquitoes but during the mating season they fight and devour themselves to vie for female attention".

He commented "Sri Lanka is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. In the last two centuries, its population has grown tenfold. It has reached a point where conservation will be impossible if wildlife cannot pave its way".

American naturalist and odonatologist (expert on dragonflies) Karen Coniff, who is now resident in Sri Lanka, has had her eye on these 'hunter insects' for a long time. She states "Tourists come to Sri Lanka to find something unique and out of the ordinary. From bird-watching, our eyes are diverted to butterflies, then spiders and eventually, we discover dragonflies and damselflies".

She has been studying Sri Lanka's interesting species of dragonfly and damselfly species which are endemic as well. "Every moment, we try our best to spot a rare one and catalogue it with special botanical and common zoological names", she added.

A sharp eye is indeed needed in order to catch a dragonfly but if one is patient, with the help of micro-binoculars, it will always be possible to glance upon them. "They are very interesting to watch because they have good hunting skills, maintain their territories and are good to photograph once they land to rest after their intense flying" notes Jayaweera our nature tour guide.

With regard to protecting wetlands like Thalangama, Deputy Director of ecotourism for the Department of Wildlife Conservation W. S. K. Pathiratna said "We support and have extended our help in conserving the dragonfly and damselfly species of Sri Lanka which will be beneficial to tourism because we allow visitors the pleasure of viewing and photographing them".

He explained that if specimens were needed for research, special permits can be arranged by the Wildlife Department and that together with the Environment Ministry they have already taken steps to educate the public on protecting the biodiversity in Sri Lanka.

In terms of good nature tourism potential of dragonfly watching for promoting Sri Lanka, the Chairman of the Tourist Promotions Bureau Renton de Alwis stated, "Ecotourism ventures like dragonfly watching is unconventional sending the message that Sri Lanka is definitely one of the world's hotspots for biodiversity".

He mentioned that wildlife tourism is also a useful avenue for local people to obtain employment because it is also increasingly creating an economic agenda for conserving wildlife. Making Sri Lanka a Great Green Destination on par with the Earth Lung project spearheaded by the Tourist Promotion Bureau has been aimed at greening the country in order to reduce the effects of global warming.