| YALA - WHERE THE LEOPARD ROAMS |

Yala is the oldest National Park in Sri Lanka and best known for its leopard population. Situated in the
deep south of Sri Lanka, Yala National Park lies close to the Indian Ocean and its terrain mainly consists of scrubs with rocky areas and fresh water lakes and lagoons.

An extent of 126,786ha covers the national park and its strict natural reserve. The park has five blocks and
Block-I is the most familiar, which is 14,101ha and most commonly visited area. Before declaring as a National park in 1938, the Block-I was a shooting sport reserve.

Receiving an annual rainfall of 1875mm max, this area is dry and arid. The area receives its annual rainfall

during the months of November to January from Northeast monsoon. There are two main rivers run through the Yala National Park, Menik Ganga and Kumbukkan Oya. Water is abundant after the northeast monsoon, but during the dry season surface water becomes an infrequent. The surface water bodies appear in the forms of streams, manmade lakes called "Wewa", waterholes, rock pools, and lagoons. Waterholes occur in low lying places while rock pools of varying size are capable of containing water year-round are an important source of water for elephants. For many water birds and water buffaloes these natural waterholes are ideal habitats. Several "Wewa" or manmade lakes are there including, Maha Seelawa, Buthawa, Uraniya, and Pilinnawa tanks. Many rivers and streams flow down to the southeast, originating in the highlands of Western and central hills. Kumbukkan Oya in the east and Menik River and its tributaries in the west flow across the park, and provide an important water source in the dry season to wild animals of the park. Normally the streams of the park are dry during the drought season. These rivers and streams show a degree of runoff fluctuations between wet and dry seasons. Kumbukkan Oya discharges seven times as much water than in rainy season than in the dry season. A number of lagoons are situated along the coast line of the park.

A large number of ancient Buddhist civilization ruins are found within the park and contains about 100
With large areas of open grasslands that are ideal locations for elephants. This semi-arid flora provides
shelter and food to a well diversified fauna too. A 32 species of mammals, over 125 species of birds and many species of reptiles make the park more appealing. by D. S. Senanayake, the minister of agriculture.

125 caves that are still inhabited with close proximity to two main Buddhist temples Magul Maha Viharaya and Sithul Pawuwa.

In 1938 Yala became a national park when the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance were passed into law There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. Kumana National Park, Yala
Strict Nature Reserve and Kataragama, Katagamuwa, and Nimalawa sanctuaries are continuous with the park.

Blocks in Yala are as follows:

Block Block Block Block Block I 14,101 hectares declared in 1938 II 9,931 hectares Added in 1954 III 40,775 hectares Added in 1967 IV 26,418 hectares Added in 1969 V 6,656 hectares Added in 1973

The park was badly damaged by the tsunami of 26th December 2004, with the destruction of the wildlife

centre and a tourist lodge. Many tourists, including a party of 20+ Japanese, died in the disaster, as did several of the national park and lodge employees. It is very interesting to know that no evidence of largescale animal deaths from the tsunami was found, which shows that animals may have sensed the wave coming and fled to higher grounds.
Nayana Wickramasinghe Naturalist +94 71 5852337 nayana@wildworldwatch.com