National Geographic - Wild Sri Lanka (2015) Part 3 Forest of Clouds

Wild Sri Lanka

Nowhere else on earth is the power of water to create, shape and sustain life so dazzlingly evident as on the tiny oceanic island of Sri Lanka. Rising from the waves, it is a land where not one, but two monsoons mark time. A world where rains pour down, clouds swell, rivers flow, mists dance across the skies, frosts dust the highlands and thousands of man-made lakes form a curious wonderland filled with a wildlife that is strange, beautiful and utterly unique. In this series we will delve into the land of these breathtaking creatures – from the largest mammal on earth, the blue whale, to the smallest, the etruscan shrew – and discover how, from the moment Sri Lanka fractured from the southern supercontinent of Gondwanaland and was carried by the oceans to its present home – it has been an island which has been ruled by one unstoppable force: water.

Part 3: Forest of Clouds

The forests of Sri Lanka rise above the rest of the country like islands out of the sea. Here, species found nowhere else in the world have been marooned on high forest plateaus, isolated from the rest of Sri Lanka, unable to cross from one forest patch to another. They have evolved into highly diverse, self-supporting arboreal outposts – between which bats and birds fly with messages from outside. These forests are islands within an island – to step into them is to travel to another world where life is sustained by cloud swells and dancing mists. And as this mountainous terrain has combined with not one, but two, monsoons, a distinct microclimate has formed among these cloud-cloaked trees. Nearly half the island’s flowering plants are found here and amidst the twisted vine and creepers, rare and delicate orchids dot the landscape. Blue magpies, red-slender loris and purple-faced monkeys inhabit this strange, colourful – and ever diminishing - world. But although forest habitats are in decline thanks to the encroachment of man, one thing remains certain. As long as it has water to sustain it, life –the fabulous, curious, glorious life that flourishes on these high peaks – remains.

Mike Birkhead Associates

Full Version Available Upon Request