Yala is a call for meditation

Photo by Ranil Amarasuriya

Yala is about wildlife. That’s the story. It is not incorrect. I first went to Yala in 1971. Family trip. I remember seeing peacock and jungle fowl, deer and wild buffalo. And of course elephants. The next trip was in the late eighties. Friends. All of the above and leopard too. Sure, there were birds and butterflies, trees and flowers and the odd wild boar and crocodile, but it’s mostly elephant, deer and peacock. I had different eyes then and possibly better vision too. This time it was different and not just because of changed ecological, social, political, cultural and economic contexts.


I have the deepest respect for the natural world; just don’t claim to know much about it. I like photographs, but I am neither photographer nor photo-critic. I like to watch animals, but neither have the means nor the knowledge to appreciate them the way I am sure a wildlife enthusiast would. So this is not an essay about wildlife in Yala.

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Sri Lanka’s Yala ideal for leopard spotting

"My four days in Sri Lanka's premier national park produce five excellent sightings – a success rate that competes with anywhere in Africa!"

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A leopard in front of me a tusker behind me!

CJ over at The Oxymoron Chronicles has written an interesting blog post about his visit to Yala. Read it here, below I have attached an image an a quote from him.

No this is not like being caught between a rock and a hard place or being between the devil and the deep blue sea. But a wonderful heavenly moment I enjoyed when I was in Yala over the weekend. This time we were stayin out side the park in the wild life and nature protection society bungalow. It is situated in a faraway corner of the Palatupana salt erns. Infact you would not be wrong if you woke up and thought you were inside the park. The facilities are basic but if you are used to what's available in the wild life bungalows it is more or less the same and helps you make believe that you are actually in the park.

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Yala has the highest concentration of Mugger Crocodiles in the world

by Ifham Nizam

A recent survey has revealed that the Yala Block One of the Ruhuna National Park has the biggest mugger crocodile population in the world.

The survey led by local herpetologist Anslem De Silva with the assistance of Wild Life Department officials has concluded that there are over 500 mugger crocodiles in the area which covers around 140 square kilometres.

De Silva told The Island that it must be the largest wild mugger population in the world.

De Silva, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Crocodile Species Group for World Conservation Union–IUCN and Species Specialist Group for South Asia and Iran, is conducting an islandwide two-year survey to assess the status of the two species of crocodiles – mugger and salt water crocodile in Sri Lanka.

He said that to date he had gathered data on 300 cases of crocodile attacks on humans in the recent past. His findings are based on the entire island with special emphasis on the area from the Nilwala Ganga.

His investigation has revealed that crocodile attacks occur mainly due to mistakes of humans who often bath in places not protected by crocodile fences. "The Crocodile is a very intelligent animal; it observes its prey for days, even months before attacking," says de Silva.

De Silva was the first to do a comprehensive study on snake bites in 1978. He requests the public to provide information on crocodile attacks and deaths. He could be contacted on 071 2748411.

(The Island)

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Video: High Definition video of a visit to Yala, Sri Lanka

Yala National Park, Sri Lanka

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