Lying like a teardrop in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is an island defying convention. Poised just six degrees above the equator, it's less than 30,000 square miles in size. But it has enough wildlife to rival a continent: elephants, leopards, bears, and deer. It all comes down to its complicated tropical climate and geography, including coastal plains, central highlands, and mountainous regions.

Lying like a teardrop in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is an island defying convention. Poised just six degrees above the equator, it's less than 30,000 square miles in size. But it has enough wildlife to rival a continent: elephants, leopards, bears, and deer. It all comes down to its complicated tropical climate and geography, including coastal plains, central highlands, and mountainous regions.