Covering an area of 88.64 km², Sinharaja is the home to a huge variety of endemic, native wild animal species. The Sinharaja rainforest has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. (It was designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988)

Sinharaja is the Sri Lanka's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees here are endemic and most of them are native to Sri Lanka. About 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species, especially butterflies, birds, reptiles and amphibians can be found in Sinharaja.  

Birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, led by the Sri Lankan Crested Drongo and the Orange Billed Babbler.

                    Orange Billed Babbler 

Here are some of the endemic animal species who live in Sinharaja.

• Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus)
• Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
• Sri Lankan deer (Rusa unicolor unicolor)
• Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (Moschiola meminna)
• Sri Lankan jackal (Canis aureus naria)
• Toque macaque (Macaca sinica)
• Red slender loris (Loris tardigradus)
• Purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus)
• Sinharaja shrew (Crocidura hikmiya)
• Golden palm civet (Paradoxurus zeylonensis)
• Paradoxurus aureus
• Golden dry-zone palm civet (Paradoxurus stenocephalus)
• Sri Lankan brown palm civet (Paradoxurus montanus)
• Yellow-striped chevrotain (Moschiola kathygre)

Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks. There are about 3 elephants, 15 leopards and the most common langar mammal is the Purple- faced langar. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Some of the reptiles include the Green pit viper, The Hump-nosed viper and a large variety of amphibians especially frogs.    

                    Green pit viper      

                                                                         

     Hump-nosed viper

                   

                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                               

         

So let's protect rainforests around the world such as Sinharaja for the future generation.