Wildlife officers have arrested a man for entering the Ritigala Strict Nature Reserve without permission and destroying a bee colony, Newswire reported.
The suspect was taken into custody on Friday (July 10). He is due to be produced before the Kekirawa Magistrate’s Court on July 16 on charges of illegally entering a strict nature reserve without a permit and damaging wildlife habitats.
Ritigala, in the North Central Province, is one of Sri Lanka’s designated strict nature reserves — the most tightly protected category of conservation land, where public access is prohibited without authorisation from the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The forested mountain, the highest point in the surrounding plains, is also a noted archaeological site, home to the ruins of an ancient monastic complex.
Harvesting honey, cutting timber and disturbing wildlife inside such reserves are offences under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, and enforcement officers periodically detain intruders found removing forest resources.
