Wilpattu National Park (''Willu-pattu'', "Land of Lakes") is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (natural lakes) – natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. Located on the northwest coast lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka, the park is west of

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

and north of

Puttalam Puttalam ( si, පුත්තලම, translit=Puttalama; ta, புத்தளம், translit=Puttaḷam) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam Di ...

(approximately north of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

). The park is (131,693 hectares) in area and ranges from

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. Nearly one hundred and six lakes (Willu) and tanks are found spread throughout Wilpattu. Wilpattu is the largest and one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka. Wilpattu is world-renowned for its

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...

('' Panthera pardus kotiya'') population. A remote camera survey conducted in Wilpattu from July to October 2015 by the Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust captured photographs of forty-nine individual leopards in the surveyed area, the core area density of which was between that of Yala National Park's Block I and

Horton Plains National Park Horton Plains National Park ( si, හෝර්ටන් තැන්න ජාතික උද්‍යානය, Hortan Thanna Jathika Udyanaya) is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It is locate ...

. From December 1988 to 16 March 2003, the park was closed due to security concerns surrounding the Sri Lankan Civil War, before being reopened to visitors sixteen years later. Visitor access is currently limited to approximately 25% of the park, the remainder of which is dense forest or scrub. Popular visiting periods span between the months of February and October, although there are a number of private

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

groups that conduct

safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an impor ...

s year-round.

History

The Mahavansa records that in 543 BC

Prince Vijaya According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa'' chronicle, Prince Vijaya (c. 543–505 BCE) was the first Sinhalese king. Legends and records from both Indian and Sri Lanka sources say that he along with several hundred followers came to Sinhala after they ...

landed at Tambapanni now known as Kudrimalai Point (Horse Point), established the Sinhalese kingdom in Tambapanni and founded the Sinhala nation. In 1905 the area was designated a sanctuary and in 1938 it was upgraded to the National Park status.' Kudrimalai, or Horse Point, was visited by a subject of

Emperor Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Mino ...

in 47 AD, who was blown off course by the monsoon. The local king later sent his own envoys to Rome during the time of Pliny.

Climate

The annual

Rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

is about and the annual temperature is about . Inter-monsoonal rains in March and the

northeast monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...

(December – February) are the main sources of rainfall.

Flora and fauna

There are many types of vegetation to be found in Wilpattu, including littoral vegetation, such as salt grass and low scrub monsoon forest with tall emergents, such as palu (''

Manilkara hexandra ''Manilkara hexandra'' is a tree species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the family Sapotaceae. It is native to much of south Asia (China: Hainan and southern Guangxi provinces; the Indian subcontinent: Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka; Indo-China: C ...

''), and satin (''

Chloroxylon swietenia ''Chloroxylon swietenia'' , the Ceylon satinwood or East Indian satinwood, is a tropical hardwood, the sole species in the genus ''Chloroxylon'' (from the Greek χλωρὸν ξύλον, "green wood"). It is native to southern India, Sri Lank ...

''), milla (''

Vitex altissima ''Vitex altissima'', the peacock chaste tree, is a species of woody plant reaching some 20 m in height, in the family Lamiaceae. It is native to the Indomalayan realm, namely Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and is also found ...

''), weera (''Drypetes sepiaria''), ebony (''

Diospyros ebenum ''Diospyros ebenum'', or Ceylon ebony ( si, කළුවර ''Kaluwara''), is a species of tree in the genus Diospyros and the family Ebenaceae. The tree produces valuable black wood. Description This middle-high evergreen tree grows very sl ...

'') and wewarna ('' Alseodaphne semecapriflolia''). 31 species of

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

have been identified within Wilpattu national park. Mammals that are identified as

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depen ...

living within the Wilpattu National Park are the

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

(''Elephas maximus maximus''),

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation. ...

(''Melursus ursinus inornatus''), leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') and

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

(''Bubalus bubalis''). sambhur (''Rusa unicolor unicolor''),

spotted deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

(''Axis axis ceylonensis''), mongoose, mouse and shrew are more of Wilpattu's residents.

Birds

The

painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctiv ...

, the open bill,

little cormorant The little cormorant (''Microcarbo niger'') is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Slightly smaller than the Indian cormorant it lacks a peaked head and has a shorter beak. It is widely distributed across the Indian Subcontinent and ex ...

, Sri Lankan junglefowl (''Gallus lafayetii'') along with many species of owls, terns, gulls, eagles, kites buzzards are to be found at Wilpattu National Park. Wetland bird species that can be seen in Wilpattu are the

garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...

(''Anas querquedula''), pintail ('' Anas acuta''), whistling teal ('' Dendrocygna javanica''), spoonbill (''Platalea leucorodia''),

black-headed ibis The black-headed ibis (''Threskiornis melanocephalus''), also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeas ...

(''Threskiornis malanocephalus''), large white egret (''Egretta alba modesta''),

cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard ...

(''Bubulcus ibis'') and purple heron (''Ardea purpurea'').

Reptiles

The most common reptiles found in the park are the monitor lizard ('' Varanus bengalensis''),

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

(''Crocodylus palustris''), common cobra (''

Naja naja The Indian cobra (''Naja naja''), also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a member of the "big four" species that are ...

''), rat snake (''

Ptyas mucosus ''Ptyas mucosa'', commonly known as the oriental ratsnake, Indian rat snake, ''darash'' or ''dhaman'', is a common non-venomous species of colubrid snake found in parts of South and Southeast Asia. Dhamans are large snakes. Typical mature total ...

''), Indian python (''

Python molurus The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

''), pond turtle (''Melanonchelys trijuga'') and the soft shelled turtle (''Lissemys punctata'') which are resident in the large permanent Villus.

Expansion of the boundary

The boundary of the Wilpattu national park originally enclosed the Puttalam District in the south and

Anuradhapura District Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''anūrādhapūra distrikkaya''; ta, அனுராதபுரம் மாவட்டம் ''Aṉurātapuram māvaṭṭam'') is a district in North Cent ...

in the east. On October 10, 2012, the government published several gazettes (section 3 of the forest conservation ordinance, chapter 451) which effectively extended the park's boundary to include regions of the northern province.

Deforestation

After the end of the civil war, allegations had been made that parts of the reserve has been occupied to build houses by certain politicians in an attempt to create Muslim colonies in Wilpattu. Commerce and Trade Minister

Rishad Bathiudeen Rishad Bathiudeen is a Sri Lankan parliamentarian and former senior cabinet minister. He is the leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Party, a registered political party in Sri Lanka. Bathiudeen was elected as a Member of Parliament of ...

contends that it was the people who had been forcibly driven away by the LTTE in 1990 in accordance to their ethnic cleansing policy who had returned to their original villages. Further to this the park was extended to the current size in 1999 after the ethnic cleansing where the old villages were marked as part of the park as claimed by the people in this area. Aerial images taken in 2018 reputedly shows that a considerable portion of the forest has been opened up and a large number of small houses being built in the area.

Gallery

Photographs of animals taken within the national park.

Birds

File:Centropus sinensis -Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka-8.jpg,

Greater coucal The greater coucal or crow pheasant (''Centropus sinensis''), is a large non-parasitic member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. A widespread resident in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, it is divided into several subspeci ...

File:Gallus lafayetii -Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka-8.jpg, Sri Lankan junglefowl File:Haliaeetus leucogaster -Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka-8.jpg,

White-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...

File:Hemiprocne coronata -Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka-8.jpg,

Crested treeswift The crested treeswift (''Hemiprocne coronata'') is a species of tree swift. It was for some time considered the same species as its eastern relative, the gray-rumped treeswift (''Hemiprocne longipennis''), but they do not interbreed where their ...

File:Himantopus himantopus -Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka-8.jpg,

Black-winged stilt The black-winged stilt (''Himantopus himantopus'') is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family ( Recurvirostridae). The scientific name ''H. himantopus'' is sometimes applied to a single, almost cosmopolitan sp ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Malabar pied hornbill (2).jpg,

Malabar pied hornbill The Malabar pied hornbill (''Anthracoceros coronatus''), also known as lesser pied hornbill, is a bird in the hornbill family, a family of tropical near-passerine birds found in the Old World. Taxonomy The Malabar pied hornbill was described by ...

File:Treron bicincta -Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka -pair-8.jpg, Orange-breasted green pigeon File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Blue-tailed bee-eater (1).jpg,

Blue-tailed bee-eater The blue-tailed bee-eater (''Merops philippinus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia where many populations are strongly migratory, and seen seasonally in many pa ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Green bee-eater (1).jpg,

Asian green bee-eater The Asian green bee-eater (''Merops orientalis''), also known as little green bee-eater, and green bee-eater in Sri Lanka, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distr ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Chestnut-headed bee-eater (1).jpg, Chestnut-headed bee-eater File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Green imperial pigeon (1).jpg,

Green imperial pigeon The green imperial pigeon (''Ducula aenea'') is a large forest pigeon. The large range extends from Nepal, southern India and Sri Lanka eastwards to southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Ja ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Indian paradise flycatcher (2).jpg,

Indian paradise flycatcher The Indian paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone paradisi'') is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List sin ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Crested serpent eagle (1).jpg,

Crested serpent eagle The crested serpent eagle (''Spilornis cheela'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Within its widespread range across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia, there are considera ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Crested hawk-eagle (2).jpg, Changeable hawk-eagle File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Black-capped kingfisher (1).jpg, Black-capped kingfisher File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Brown shrike (1).jpg,

Brown shrike The brown shrike (''Lanius cristatus'') is a bird in the shrike family that is found mainly in Asia. It is closely related to the red-backed shrike (''L. collurio'') and isabelline shrike (''L. isabellinus''). The genus name, ''Lanius'', is deri ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Little Egret (1).jpg,

Cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Grey heron (2).jpg,

Grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Indian peafowl (2).jpg,

Indian peafowl The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Painted stork (1).jpg,

Painted stork The painted stork (''Mycteria leucocephala'') is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctiv ...

Reptiles

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Bengal monitor (1).jpg,

Bengal monitor The Bengal monitor (''Varanus bengalensis''), also called the common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly a terrestrial a ...

File:Dulip Wilpattu Python1.jpg,

Indian rock python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Mugger crocodile (1).jpg,

Mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad- snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshes ...

Terrestrial animals

File:Asian Elephant in Wilpattu National Park.jpg, Sri Lankan elephant File:Leopard and Cub.jpg,

Sri Lankan leopard The Sri Lankan leopard (''Panthera pardus kotiya'') is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka. It was first described in 1956 by Sri Lankan zoologist Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala. Since 2020, the Sri Lankan leopard has been listed as Vuln ...

File:Lippenbär (24718380024).jpg,

Sri Lankan sloth bear The Sri Lankan sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus inornatus'') is a subspecies of the sloth bear which is found mainly in lowland dry forests in the island of Sri Lanka. Ecology Being omnivorous, it feeds on nuts, berries, and roots, as well as ...

File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Sri Lankan axis deer (2).jpg, Sri Lankan axis deer File:WilpattuNationalPark - February 2018 - Tufted gray langur (1).jpg,

Tufted gray langur The tufted gray langur (''Semnopithecus priam''), also known as Madras gray langur, and Coromandel sacred langur, is an Old World monkey, one of the species of langurs. This, like other gray langurs, is mainly a leaf-eating monkey. It is found ...

References

External links

{{authority control National parks of Sri Lanka Ramsar sites in Sri Lanka Protected areas established in 1938 Protected areas in North Central Province, Sri Lanka Protected areas in North Western Province, Sri Lanka