As an important watershed and catchment for several year-round rivers and streams, the Horton Plains hosts a wide range of wildlife. The last few elephants departed the area in the first half of the 20th century, but there are still a few leopards, and sambar deer and wild boar are seen feeding in meadows at dawn and dusk. The shaggy bear monkey (or purple-faced langur) is sometimes seen in the forest on the Ohiya road, and occasionally in the woods around World’s End (listen for a wheezy grunt). You may also come across the endemic toque macaque.
The area is popular with birdwatchers. Endemic species include the yellow-eared bulbul, the fantailed warbler, the ashy-headed babbler, the Ceylon hill white-eye, the Ceylon blackbird, the Ceylon white-eyed arrenga, the dusky-blue flycatcher and the Ceylon blue magpie. Birds of prey include the mountain hawk eagle.
A tufty grass called Crosypogon covers the grasslands, while marshy areas are home to copious bog moss (sphagnum). The umbrella-shaped, white-blossomed keena (Calophyllum) stand as the main canopy over montane forest areas. The stunted trees and shrubs are draped in lichen and mosses. Another notable species is Rhododendron zelanicum, which has blood-red blossoms. The poignant purple-leafed Strobilanthes blossoms once after five years, and then dies.
