The Wipattu National Park (03 of 03)

 The Wilpattu National park is one of the largest and oldest national parks in Sri Lanka, covering an area of 1,317 km² (131,693 hectares). Situated in the Northwest coastal lowland dry zone of the country, Wilpattu ranges between 0-152m above sea level.  One of the unique topographical features of the park is that it has more than one-hundred-and-six tanks and lakes (Willus). “Willu” are natural sand rimmed water basins that area filled with rainwater. While these Willus mainly contain fresh or brackish water, two of Wilpattu’s willus are said to contain saline water. Following the long rainy season, all willus and lakes of the park were full during the time of our visit. Hence instead of the usual tracks that cut across the sandy beds of the willus, we had to take by-roads through the forest areas.

 We spotted more than 60 bird species during 48 hours spent within the park, including an Orange-headed Thrush and a Black-naped Monarch. Several reptile and Butterfly species were also recorded. More than ten species of Mammals were also recorded, the prize been three leopard (Kotiya) sightings out of which two females were very closely observed. They were namely the “Kuruttu Pandi Amma” on the Mahapathessa by-road (on 25/02/2024 between 4.45 -5.30 pm) and “Cleopatra” in the Kokkariya-weli-katta (sand mound) area (25/02/2024 between 5.30-5.45 pm). It should be mentioned here that, if not for the well-calculated predictions and the very patient time management of our wildlife tracker Mr. Tharuka who accompanied us on this trip, we may not have got the opportunity to have recorded all these sightings.