19/01/2025
In Sri Lanka, there’s only one bear species – the ‘Sri Lankan Sloth Bear’ (Melursus ursinus inornatus). However, there are historical records of another bear species in Sri Lanka. This mysterious bear was referred to as the ‘Rahu Walaha’ / ‘Rathu Walaha’ (රතු වලහා) and ‘Waga Walaha’ (වග වලහා) by locals.
In 1885, Hugh Neville wrote an article (in the ‘Taprobanian’) called the “Brown Bear of Ceylon.” In it, he writes that “the brown bear of Ceylon is now found, but very rarely, in the wild district lying between Kubukkan River and the Manik Ganga.” He further states that locals refer to this bear as “Rahu Walas” [direct copy]. One might think that the writer is confusing the animal with the ‘Sloth Bear,’ but he [Neville] specifically clarified that the “brown bear is scarcely more than half the size of the Sloth Bear.” Furthermore, Neville writes that the ‘brown bear’ was more “savage” than the Sloth Bear, and that it “invariably tries to attack a man – however far off.” Of course, Neville had never seen the bear, and his descriptions were based on hunter’s accounts (if you wish to read Neville’s article, the link is provided below).
But there’s another written record of the “brown bear.” Henry Parker wrote this article for the 1887 edition of the ‘Taprobanian.’ In it, he says that the “brown bear” is “well known, but by report only, to the hunters who frequent the forests around Padawiya (පදවිය), in the northeastern corner of the North Central Province.” Parker further states that in this region, the bear was referred to as the “Waga Walaha” (වග වලහා) by locals. Again, Parker also clarifies some differences with the ‘Sloth Bear’ – he [Parker] mentions that the “ brown bear stands much lower than the Sloth Bear,” and that “it is said to live chiefly upon flesh.” Normally, Sloth Bears are omnivorous, so it seems that these reports are about a different bear. According to Parker’s account (linked below), this ‘brown bear’ had a ‘reddish brown color throughout,’ and it didn’t have a ‘V-shaped marking” on the chest (Sloth Bears have a white mark on their chest). So, what was this ‘brown bear’? More importantly, what happened to it?
According to Hugh Neville’s original article about the ‘brown bear,’ the animal was ‘exterminated’ by locals because it was too ‘savage.’
P.S. - These aren’t the only accounts about the ‘brown bear.’ Even R. L. Spittell has mentioned this bear in his articles as the ‘Rahu Walaha,’ etc. Spittell forwarded the theory that the legendary ‘Nittaewo’ were confused with the ‘brown bear’ (or ‘Rahu Walaha’) of Ceylon.
Articles –
Hugh Neville’s 1885 article -https://dbooks.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/books/PDFs/590962844.pdf
Henry Park’s 1887 article - https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/taprobanian1887/0010/image,info,text_ocr
