WILDLIFE SRI LANKA

SRI LANKA WILDLIFE

Though Sri Lanka is very small in land area, the great diversity in habitats harbors are a rich and diverse fauna and flora, with many species endemic to the island. Historically as well as in the modern era, successive rulers and governments of Sri Lanka have strived to provide sanctuary and protection to our beautiful wildlife. Today the demands and aspirations of an expanding human population makes it difficult for the government to be solely responsible for the protection, preservation and management of this beguiled wild heritage of ours. Today, especially where human interest and wildlife interest are in direct conflict. It is imperative that private organizations with resources step into and fill the areas that need immediate attention: environmental education, long term research, and to develop integrated projects for community based conservation.

NATIONAL PARKS

WILPATTU NATIONAL PARK
WILPATTU is the largest and oldest national parks in Sri Lanka and located in the Northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka. The park is located 30km west Anuradhapura and located 26 km north of Puttalam.

YALA (RUHUNA) NATIONAL PARK
YALA is the 2nd largest national park in Sri Lanka. It is situated in the southeast region of the island in the dry zone. The park is situated about 300 km from Colombo which is capital city of Sri Lanka. The park divided into five blocks and only I and II blocks are opened for the visitors. The reserve covers 979 km², although only the original 141 km² are open to the public. It was established in 1894 as a Game Sanctuary.

GAL OYA NATIONAL PARK
GAL OYA NATIONAL PARK was established in 1954 and built under the Gal Oya development project by damming the Gal Oya at Inginiyagala in 1950.

UDA WALAWE NATIONAL PARK
UDA WALAWE NATIONAL PARK is an important national park in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The reserve covers 306 km² and was established in 1972 to protect the catchment of the Uda Walawe reservoir.

WASGAMUWA NATIONAL PARK
WASGAMUWA NATIONAL PARK is a natural park in Sri lanka and situated 225 km away from Colombo. Originally it was designated as a nature reserve in 1938, and then in the early 1970's the area was regraded as a strict nature reserve. The park is situated 225 km away from Colombo.

HORTON PLAINS NATIONAL PARK
HORTON PLAINS NATIONAL PARK is a national park in the highlands of Sri Lanka. It lies at a height of more than 2,000 m in the central highlands, and its altitude means that it has a much cooler and more windy climate than the lowlands of Sri Lanka. This was named in 1834.

BUNDALA NATIONAL PARK
BUNDALA NATIONAL PARK was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1969 and redesignated to a nationla park on 4 January 1993. In 1991 Bundala became the first wetland to be declared as a Ramsar site in Sri Lanka.

SINHARAJA FOREST
The last major undisturbed area of rainforest in Sri Lanka, this forest reserve occupies a broad ridge at the heart of the island’s wet zone. On most days the forest conjures copious rain-clouds that replenish its deep soils and balance water resources for much of southwestern Sri Lanka. Recognising its importance to the island’s ecosystem, Unesco declared the reserve a World Heritage Site in 1989.

Sinharaja (Lion King) is bordered by rivers: the Koskulana Ganga in the north and the Gin Ganga in the south. An old foot track that goes past the Beverley Estate marks the eastern border, close to the highest peak in the forest, Hinipitigala (1171m). Towards the west the land decreases in elevation.

The reserve comprises 18,899 hectares of natural and modified forest, measuring about 21km east to west and 3.7km north to south. It was once a royal reserve, and some colonial records refer to it as Rajasinghe Forest. It may have been the last redoubt of the Sri Lankan lion.

In 1840 the forest became British crown land and from that time efforts were made to preserve at least some of it. However, in 1971 loggers moved in and began what was called selective logging. The logged native hardwoods were replaced with mahogany (which does not occur naturally here), logging roads and trails snaked into the forest, and a wood-chip mill was built. Conservationists lobbied hard for an end to the destruction. In 1977 the government called a halt to all logging; the machinery was dismantled and taken out of the forest, the roads gradually grew over and Sinharaja was saved. Much of the rest of Sri Lanka’s rainforest stands on mountain ridges within a 20km radius of the forest.

There are 22 villages around the forest, and locals are permitted to enter the area to tap palms to make jaggery (a hard brown sweet) and treacle, and to collect dead wood and leaves for fuel and construction. Medicinal plants are collected during specific seasons. Rattan collection is of more concern, as the demand for cane is high. Sinharaja attracts illegal gem miners too, whose abandoned open pits pose a danger to humans and animals and cause erosion. There is also some poaching of wild animals.