KUMANA NATIONAL PARK IN SRI LANKA – By Leelananda Ihalagamage in Melbourne
The Kumana Bird Sanctuary is situated 408 km from Colombo on the south-eastern coast of Sri Lanka, about 30 kilometers south of Arugam Bay. The entrance to the Park is at Panama – 15 kilometers south of Arugam Bay. From Panama it is a 30 km drive to the wetland of Kumana Villu.
In 1938, Kumana was declared as a bird sanctuary by the British administration. Again in 1969, it was flagged as a National Park and named as Yala East. However in 2006, it was named as Kumana National Park.
The 18,149 hectares Kumana National Park is a bird sanctuary where a multitude of birds breed and roost. Kumana National Park is the eastern sector of Yala National Park.
The vegetation consists mainly of mangrove trees, kumbuk trees and the karan fern, as well as the open marsh area. One of the most significant sites for birding within Kumana National Park is Kumana Villu – a 200 hectare natural swamp lake, fed by the Kumbukkan Oya through a half mile long narrow channel. It is at this mangrove swamp that many water birds nest in May and June. Regular sightings include pelicans, storks, spoonbills, ibis, herons, egrets and cormorants. Rare species such as Black-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Eurasian Spoonbill and Great Stone-Curlew are breeding inhabitants.
Kumana National Park is situated in the dry zone of Sri Lanka and the Park has a diverse set of eco-systems. Kumana is more prominently viewed as a bird sanctuary across the world due to its aquatic bird-friendly set up, such as lagoons and wild swamp lake known as ‘Kumana Villu’. The wetland areas of the Park are surrounded by dry zone tropical thorn forest at the edge of the Kumbukkan river. The Park is covered with a pristine river line forest complex. Rock outcrops can be found in multiple places across the Park and large saline lagoons along the coast are often surrounded by extensive plains which provide plenty of vegetation. Kumana particularly flagged as a top destination to observe one of Sri Lanka’s rarest birds – the black-necked stork.
Mangrove swamps known as ‘Kumana Villu’ offers a perfect nesting ground for many species of birds. Swamp lake is at its finest between May and June when many water birds migrate to its mangrove swamp to nest. It is known that Kumana is home for about 255 species of birds out of bird species recorded in Sri Lanka.
You may watch out for elephants, spotted and sambhur deer and the magnificent leopards. You may need to have keen eyes to spot the leopards lying in the undergrowth of the forest and are active around water holes like the Kumana villu swamps. The Sloth Bear found in the Kumana National Park is endemic to the country.
Source : “Birding Places” and Face Book
Photographs by :Dammika George
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