{"id":152120,"date":"2025-04-26T06:11:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T06:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=152120"},"modified":"2025-04-26T06:11:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T06:11:57","slug":"dr-anslem-de-silva-herpetologist-renowned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/dr-anslem-de-silva-herpetologist-renowned\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Anslem De Silva \u2026\u2026 Herpetologist Renowned"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Anslem De Silva \u2026\u2026 Herpetologist Renowned<\/span><\/h2>\n
Source:<\/span><\/strong>Thuppahis<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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A Facebook Note from Avishka Mario Seneviratne, April 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buddhika Dassanayake<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and I were lucky to meet Sri Lanka\u2019s foremost herpetologist (expert on amphibians and reptiles),\u00a0the legendary Dr. Anslem de Silva,\u00a0<\/strong>at his charming abode in Gampola. A skilled magician from Matara, de Silva has penned over 500 works since the \u201960s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"elanka\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here he cradles \u201cFloral Unicorn,\u201d a Laki Senanayake piece, gifted to him by the late artis<\/strong>t.\u00a0For months,\u00a0he\u2019s generously guided me on my upcoming exploration of the mystical snake stones\u2014said to draw venom from serpent bites.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Wikipedia NOTE on Anslem De Silva\u00a0\u2026.. with highlighting added by Editor, Thuppahi \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

https:\/\/species.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/Anslem_de_Silva<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Kongahage Anslem Lawrence de Silva<\/b>\u00a0(Sinhala<\/a>:\u00a0\u0d87\u0db1\u0dca\u0dc3\u0dca\u0dbd\u0db8\u0dca \u0daf \u0dc3\u0dd2\u0dbd\u0dca\u0dc0\u0dcf<\/span>; born 1 August 1940) is a Sri Lankan \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.\u00a0biologist<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0herpetologist<\/a>\u00a0recognised as a pioneer of modern herpetology in Sri Lanka.<\/strong>[<\/span>1]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0His career spanned for more than five decades; de Silva has contributed to the field of zoology with much research and numerous publications particularly on crocodiles, snakes and lizards.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

\"elanka\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

De Silva is known for conservation of crocodiles in Sri Lanka.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0He is the regional chairman of the Crocodile Specialists Group of the IUCN, South Asia and Iran.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

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Personal life:\u00a0\u00a0He was born on 1 August 1940 in Matara. He completed education from St. Servatius College, Matara.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Before entering the field of biology, de Silva was a renowned magician<\/strong>. He won two national awards at All Island Magic Competition and conducted massive shows from Matara to Jaffna. He also published 22 papers on magic. His son Panduka de Silva is also a naturalist where he worked in Andaman Islands on crocodiles.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
Career<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n

While at the school, he rescued a\u00a0rat snake<\/a>, which led him to move further in field of science.\u00a0Then he started to rear few non-poisonous snakes, a baby\u00a0saltwater crocodile<\/a>, and a few\u00a0sea turtles<\/a>\u00a0in his home,<\/strong>\u00a0and villagers started calling him Hoony Mahaththaya (Mr Gecko) due to his frequent outings around the village to catch\u00a0geckos<\/a>\u00a0as a food for snakes. At the age of 17, he read the book\u00a0Snakes of Ceylon<\/i>\u00a0written by\u00a0Frank Wall<\/a>\u00a0which induced him to start researching snakes throughout the country.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

In 1964, he joined\u00a0Faculty of Medicine, Peradeniya<\/a>, as the museum technician of the Department of Public Health. He retired from Department of Community Medicine in 2000.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

He is the founder and president of Amphibia and Reptile Research Organisation of Sri Lanka (ARROS), which he started in 1990.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0ARROS is the first\u00a0NGO<\/a>\u00a0in Sri Lanka aimed at reptile conservation. Due to his enormous contribution, de Silva was appointed as the chairman for Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force in the\u00a0World Conservation Union<\/a>\u00a0(now the IUCN) for Sri Lanka. In 2015, he worked as the co-chairman of the Amphibian Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0He has published more than 450 research publications on herpetofauna in Sri Lanka for last fifty years. He was the first author to publish a reptile guide with coloured photographs. To create public awareness of reptiles and amphibians, de Silva published the Sri Lanka\u2019s first series of posters illustrated with coloured photographs in 1990 and 2001.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

De Silva organised a number of events at fourth World Herpetology Congress and World Crocodile Congress.<\/strong>\u00a0In 1991,\u00a0University of Peradeniya<\/a>\u00a0conferred a\u00a0Master of Science<\/a>\u00a0degree for his contributions to the field of zoology.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0He also worked as a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya and\u00a0Rajarata University of Sri Lanka<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bibliography<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n