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Yala National Park
Yala National Park is a national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean and covering 979 km2 (378 sq mi). It was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900. It hosts diverse ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands, and is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and 44 mammal species. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas in Sri Lanka harbouring 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka.
The area around Yala National Park has hosted several ancient civilizations. Two important Buddhist pilgrim sites, Sithulpahuwa and Magul Vihara, are situated within the park. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage on the Yala National Park, and 250 people died in its vicinity.
In 1560 Spanish cartographer Cipriano Sánchez noted Yala in his map "is abandoned for 300 years due to insalubrious conditions". Chief Justice Sir Alexander Johnston wrote a detailed account on Yala in 1806 after travelling from Trincomalee to Hambantota. On March 23, 1900, the government proclaimed Yala and Wilpattu reserves under the Forest Ordinance. Initially the extent of the reserve was 389 square kilometres (150 mi2) between the Menik and Kumbukkan Rivers. At that time the reserve did not bear the name Yala. The Game Protection Society (now the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society) was instrumental in establishing the reserve. The forest area between Palatupana and Yala was declared a hunting site reserved only for the resident sportsmen.
On 1 March 1938, Yala became a national park when the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance was passed into law by D. S. Senanayake, the minister of agriculture. The park consists of five blocks. Subsequently, four other blocks were incorporated to the park. 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.
In 1958, Game Ranger Liyanage John Stanley Fernando was photographed at Yala National Park with a rescued leopard cub, representing one of the earliest documented examples of human–wildlife coexistence in Sri Lanka’s conservation history. The leopard cub was later transferred to the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala, Colombo, as part of early collaboration between the Department of Wildlife and the Zoo in animal care and rehabilitation. This image is preserved in a private family archive and is available on Wikimedia Commons as a historical record of Yala’s formative years in wildlife management.[citation needed]
The Yala area is mostly composed of metamorphic rock belonging to the Precambrian era and classified into two series, Vijayan series and Highland series. Reddish brown soil and low humic grey soil are prominent among six soil types. Yala is situated in the lowest peneplain of Sri Lanka, which extends from Trincomalee to Hambantota. Topographically the area is a flat and mildly undulating plain that runs to the coast with elevation is 30 metres (98 ft) close to the coast while rising in the interior to 100–125 metres (328–410 ft). The national park is situated in the dry semi-arid climatic region and rain is received mainly during the northeast monsoon. The mean annual rainfall ranges between 500–775 millimetres (19.7–30.5 in) while the mean temperature ranges between 26.4 °C (79.5 °F) in January to 30 °C (86 °F) in April. It is windier in Yala, during the southwest monsoon compared to the wind during the northeast monsoon with wind speeds from 23 kilometres per hour (14 mph) to 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph).
Water is abundant after the northeast monsoon, but during the dry season surface water becomes an important factor. The bodies of surface water appear in the forms of streams, tanks, waterholes, rock pools, and lagoons. Waterholes occur in low lying places while rock pools of varying size are capable of containing water year-round, and are hence an important source of water for elephants. For many water birds and water buffaloes natural waterholes are ideal habitats. Such reservoirs are largely concentrated to the Block I followed by Block II. Several tanks are there including, Maha Seelawa, Buthawa, Uraniya, and Pilinnawa tanks. Many rivers and streams flow in a southeasterly direction, originating in the highlands of adjacent Uva 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 exhibit a degree of runoff fluctuations between wet and dry seasons. Kumbukkan Oya discharges seven times as much water in the rainy season than in the dry season. A number of lagoons are situated along the coast line of the park. There are several routes to get to Yala from Colombo, while the route via Ratnapura and Tissamaharama is the shortest with 270 kilometres (170 mi).
Yala National Park lay in the direct path of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which impacted Sri Lanka 90 minutes after its generation. The tsunami caused severe but localized damage on the park, with around 250 people being killed. The tsunami wave was reported to be 20 feet (6.1 m) high. The tsunami waves reached inland only through the river-mouth gaps in the coastal dunes. Inundation distances from ranged up to 392 to 1,490 m (429 to 1,629 yd). The main habitats affected are scrub forest and grasslands. About 5,000 ha (19 mi2) of grassland, forest, and wetland were directly affected by the tsunami. The satellite images revealed that mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) range from 0.245 to 0.772 in the Block I and II. After the disaster the NDVI value fell dramatically to 0.2111. Around 60% of the area along the coastline has changed. The damage was worse closer to the sea. The movement patterns of two radio collared elephants were analyzed. The study found out that their movements were consistent with behaviour prompted by immediate cues generated by the tsunami waves rather than a response to a "sixth sense".
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Yala National Park
Yala National Park is a national park in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean and covering 979 km2 (378 sq mi). It was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900. It hosts diverse ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands, and is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan elephants, Sri Lankan leopards and 44 mammal species. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas in Sri Lanka harbouring 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka.
The area around Yala National Park has hosted several ancient civilizations. Two important Buddhist pilgrim sites, Sithulpahuwa and Magul Vihara, are situated within the park. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage on the Yala National Park, and 250 people died in its vicinity.
In 1560 Spanish cartographer Cipriano Sánchez noted Yala in his map "is abandoned for 300 years due to insalubrious conditions". Chief Justice Sir Alexander Johnston wrote a detailed account on Yala in 1806 after travelling from Trincomalee to Hambantota. On March 23, 1900, the government proclaimed Yala and Wilpattu reserves under the Forest Ordinance. Initially the extent of the reserve was 389 square kilometres (150 mi2) between the Menik and Kumbukkan Rivers. At that time the reserve did not bear the name Yala. The Game Protection Society (now the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society) was instrumental in establishing the reserve. The forest area between Palatupana and Yala was declared a hunting site reserved only for the resident sportsmen.
On 1 March 1938, Yala became a national park when the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance was passed into law by D. S. Senanayake, the minister of agriculture. The park consists of five blocks. Subsequently, four other blocks were incorporated to the park. 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.
In 1958, Game Ranger Liyanage John Stanley Fernando was photographed at Yala National Park with a rescued leopard cub, representing one of the earliest documented examples of human–wildlife coexistence in Sri Lanka’s conservation history. The leopard cub was later transferred to the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala, Colombo, as part of early collaboration between the Department of Wildlife and the Zoo in animal care and rehabilitation. This image is preserved in a private family archive and is available on Wikimedia Commons as a historical record of Yala’s formative years in wildlife management.[citation needed]
The Yala area is mostly composed of metamorphic rock belonging to the Precambrian era and classified into two series, Vijayan series and Highland series. Reddish brown soil and low humic grey soil are prominent among six soil types. Yala is situated in the lowest peneplain of Sri Lanka, which extends from Trincomalee to Hambantota. Topographically the area is a flat and mildly undulating plain that runs to the coast with elevation is 30 metres (98 ft) close to the coast while rising in the interior to 100–125 metres (328–410 ft). The national park is situated in the dry semi-arid climatic region and rain is received mainly during the northeast monsoon. The mean annual rainfall ranges between 500–775 millimetres (19.7–30.5 in) while the mean temperature ranges between 26.4 °C (79.5 °F) in January to 30 °C (86 °F) in April. It is windier in Yala, during the southwest monsoon compared to the wind during the northeast monsoon with wind speeds from 23 kilometres per hour (14 mph) to 15 kilometres per hour (9.3 mph).
Water is abundant after the northeast monsoon, but during the dry season surface water becomes an important factor. The bodies of surface water appear in the forms of streams, tanks, waterholes, rock pools, and lagoons. Waterholes occur in low lying places while rock pools of varying size are capable of containing water year-round, and are hence an important source of water for elephants. For many water birds and water buffaloes natural waterholes are ideal habitats. Such reservoirs are largely concentrated to the Block I followed by Block II. Several tanks are there including, Maha Seelawa, Buthawa, Uraniya, and Pilinnawa tanks. Many rivers and streams flow in a southeasterly direction, originating in the highlands of adjacent Uva 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 exhibit a degree of runoff fluctuations between wet and dry seasons. Kumbukkan Oya discharges seven times as much water in the rainy season than in the dry season. A number of lagoons are situated along the coast line of the park. There are several routes to get to Yala from Colombo, while the route via Ratnapura and Tissamaharama is the shortest with 270 kilometres (170 mi).
Yala National Park lay in the direct path of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which impacted Sri Lanka 90 minutes after its generation. The tsunami caused severe but localized damage on the park, with around 250 people being killed. The tsunami wave was reported to be 20 feet (6.1 m) high. The tsunami waves reached inland only through the river-mouth gaps in the coastal dunes. Inundation distances from ranged up to 392 to 1,490 m (429 to 1,629 yd). The main habitats affected are scrub forest and grasslands. About 5,000 ha (19 mi2) of grassland, forest, and wetland were directly affected by the tsunami. The satellite images revealed that mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) range from 0.245 to 0.772 in the Block I and II. After the disaster the NDVI value fell dramatically to 0.2111. Around 60% of the area along the coastline has changed. The damage was worse closer to the sea. The movement patterns of two radio collared elephants were analyzed. The study found out that their movements were consistent with behaviour prompted by immediate cues generated by the tsunami waves rather than a response to a "sixth sense".