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National Park

Yala National Park

  Province Southern and Uva
  District Hambantota & Monaragala
  Type of the Forest National park
  Established 1900 (Wildlife sanctuary) 25-02-1938 (National park) Established: 1900 (Wildlife sanctuary) 1938 (National park) Established: 1969 (Nature reserve) 1988 (National park)
  Governing body Department of Wildlife Conservation
  Area 978.807 km2




  Physical features

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 meters (98 ft) close to the coast while rising in the interior to 100–125 meters (330–410 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 millimeters (20–30.5 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).



In 1560 Spanish cartographer Cipriano Sanchez 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 traveling 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 sq mi) 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.

Henry Engelbrecht was appointed as the first park warden. He was a Boer officer served under General de Wet in the Second Boer War. He was taken as a prisoner of war in 1900 and had deported to Ceylon with 5,000 other prisoners. As Engelbrecht refused to swear allegiance to Edward VII, he was not allowed to repatriate to South Africa. Although he was granted the freedom of movement within the country, he could obtain his pension only from the Kachcheri of Hambantota. The governor of Ceylon, Sir Henry Arthur Blake met him on a journey to Hambantota from Badulla, and as a result, in 1908 Engelbrecht was awarded the position of warden. He administrated the area well, took care of wildlife and apprehended illegal hunters. However during the World War I, he was imprisoned for supplying meat to a German cruiser, SMS Emden. Engelbrecht was released after three months, and he returned to Hambantota. He died in poverty after a few years on 25 March 1922. In 1931 Captain S. Withoift, who was the second in command of the ship came to Colombo and addressed the Colombo Rotary Club. cruiser Poulier, the lawyer of Engelbrecht wrote a letter to him and received a letter from Withoift claiming that the ship never received meat or had any connection with Ceylon during the ship's voyage in the Indian Ocean.

Yala had been a center of past civilizations. Demon King Ravana established his kingdom here with Ravana Kotte, now submerged in the sea, as its boundary. Seafaring traders brought Indo-Aryan civilization with them, as Yala is situated in their trading route. A large number of ancient although disrepair tanks are the evidence of a rich hydraulic and agricultural civilization dating back to 5th century BC. Situlpahuwa, which was the home for 12,000 arahants, is situated within the park area along with Magul Vihara, which built in 87 BC and Akasa Chaitiya, which constructed in 2nd century BC. Agriculture flourished in area during the period of Ruhuna Kingdom. According to Mahavamsa, the Kingdom of Ruhuna began to decline by the end of the 13th Century AD. During the colonial period Yala became a popular hunting ground. Yala is annually visited by 400,000 pilgrims.

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.

  Endemic varieties



In the Blocks III, IV, and V, forests are more widespread. The canopy of the forest manly contains Drypetes sepiaria and Manilkara hexandra plant species. The Pitiya grasslands are important for grazing animals. The Cynodon barberi is the common grass in Pitiya grasslands while Zoysia matrella becomes dominant near the beach. Among 300 odd floral species are Manilkara hexandra, Drypetes sepiaria, Ceylon Satinwood, Terminalia arjuna, Limonia, Berrya cordifolia, Randia dumetorum, Pleurostylia opposita, Gymnema sylvestre, Bell mimosa, Neem, Banyan, Toothbrush tree, Schleichera oleosa, Vitex pinnata, Indian blackberry, Gmelina asiatica, Carissa spinarum, Euphorbia antiquorum, and Acacia eburnea. In the seasonally flooded areas of Block II, a wild species of rice (Oryza sp.) is found. The Glenniea unijuga is an endemic plant species found around the wetlands of the park. The Munronia pumila, Salacia reticulata, and Asparagus racemosus are the medicinal plants.




