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Bundala National Park

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For other places with the same name, see Bundala.
Bundala National Park
Sunset near Kirinda
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LocationSouthern province, Sri Lanka
Nearest cityHambantota
Area6,216 hectares (24.00 sq mi)
Established1993
Governing bodyDepartment of Wildlife Conservation

Bundala National Park is an internationally important wintering ground for migratory water birds in Sri Lanka. Bundala harbors 197 species of Birds, the highlight being the Greater Flamingo, which migrate in large flocks.[1] Bundala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1969 and redesignated to a national park on 4 January 1993.[2] In 1991 Bundala became the first wetland to be declared as a Ramsar site in Sri Lanka. In 2005 the national park was designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, the fourth biosphere reserve in Sri Lanka.[3] The national park is situated 245 km southeast of Colombo.[2]

Physical features

The area mainly underlain with hornblende-biotite gneiss of the eastern Vijayan series.[1] The low country dry zone climate prevails in the area. Bundala area receives 1,074 mm of annual rainfall.[2] Although the area receives substantial rainfall during the North-eastern monsoon season, dry climate persists rest of the year. The proximity to the Indian Ocean helps to ameliorate the temperatures. The mean annual temperature is around 28.0°C. But temperature rise in the months of April, May and June. The national park have a high relative humidity ratio of 80%.[1] The national park consists four lagoons, Bundala lagoon of 520 ha, Embilikala lagoon of 430 ha, Malala lagoon 650 ha and Koholankala lagoon of 390 ha.

Ecology

The ecological areas of the national park contains seven terrestrial habitat types and six wetland types.[1] The number of plant species documented in the area totals to 383 with dry thorny shrubs and herbs being the most abundant plant life. This includes 6 endemic species and 7 nationally threatened species.[4] Bundala also contains a small patch of mangrove in the Bundala lagoon area. 324 species of vertebrates have been recorded in the national park,[1] which include 32 species of fish, 15 species of amphibians, 48 species of reptiles, 197 species of birds and 32 species of mammals. 5 of the mammals classified as threatened.[4] 52 species of butterflies are among the invertebrates. This includes Troides darsius, the largest butterfly in Sri Lanka.[5] The most common species are Appias wardii, Ixias pyrene and Colotis amata.

Flora and fauna

The Phytoplankton in all the lagoons is dominated by blue-green algae including species such as Macrocystis, Nostoc, Oscillatoria.[6] Hydrilla is in abundance in lagoons such as Embilikala and Malala. Water hyacinth, water lilies, and Typha angustifolia reed beds are found in the marshes and streams. The vegetation mainly consists of Acacia scrubs including Dichrostachys cinerea, Randia dumetorum, Ziziphus sp., Gymnosporia emarginata, Carissa spinarum, Capparis zeylanica and Cassia spp.. The trees of the forest are Bauhinia racemosa, Salvadora persica, Drypetes sepiaria, Manilkara hexandra, and less common Chloroxylon swietenia, Azadirachta indica, and Feronia limonia. Halophyte plants thrive in the national park's environmental conditions.[1] Salicornia brachiata and Halosarcia indica are examples of salt-tolerant plants. Lumnitzera racemosa trees found the small mangrove area.

Birds

Bundala is an important bird sanctuary. About 100 species of water birds inhabit the wetland habitats in Bundala, half of them being migrant birds.[1] Greater Flamingo which visits in large flocks of over 1,000 individuals, from Rann of Kutch of India is being the highlight in the past. Other water birds which are present in large numbers include Lesser Whistling Duck, Garganey, Little Cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Grey Heron, Black-headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Asian Openbill, Painted Stork, medium sized waders, Tringa subspecies, and small waders, Charadrius subspecies. Black-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant and Eurasian Coot are rare birds inhabit in the national park.

Mammals

The forest is an important habitat for the endangered Sri Lankan Elephant, the largest subspecies of Asian Elephant.[7] Sri Lankan Sambar Deer, Sri Lankan Leopard, Wild boar, Indian Gray Mongoose, Sri Lankan Sloth Bear, Sri Lankan Axis Deer, Small Indian Civet, Golden Jackal, and Indian Crested Porcupine are the other mammals found in the park.[8]

Fishes, reptiles and amphibians

Bundala harbors various forms of fishes including salt water fishes, marine fishes, brakish water forms and freshwater fishes.[1] Respectively Anguilla bicolor, Bald glassy, Milkfish and Channa striata are examples for each form of fishes. Bundala is one of the few areas where both of the crocodile species present in Sri Lanka, Mugger crocodile and Saltwater Crocodile can be found.[7] The shore adjoining Bundala is a nesting ground for all five species of globally endangered sea turtles that migrate to Sri Lanka.[1] Bundala's herpetofauna includes two endemic species, a toad and a snake, Bufo atukoralei and Boulenger's Keelback.

Sustainable human activities

The Kirinda temple, which was built on the site where the vessel carrying the princess Viharamahadevi arrived during the reign of King Kavan Tissa (205 BC–161 BC),[9] is situated in the transition zone of the national park.[7] The buffer zone includes four villages with approximately 3,800 residents. The main occupation of these local communities include animal husbandry, fishing, agriculture and mining of fossil shell deposits for lime production. There are farmer organizations and fisheries cooperative societies to regulate fishing, create alternative livelihoods for fishermen and encourage appropriate fishing methods in the protected areas.

Threats

Former IUCN researcher Dr. Channa Bambaradeniya have identified four main threats that affects biodiversity of Bundala:[5] habitat destruction and fragmentation, exploitation of species, prolonged drought and spread of invasive alien species and inadequately planned land-use practices. Bundala is suffering from the spread of two invasive species of plants that are now estimated to cover some 60% of its land area.[10] Cactus covers the ground and the scrub plant Prosopis juliflora (Sinhalese "Katu Andara")[11] grows above, blocking sunlight for other plants. A research conducted by the IWMI has revealed that water in four of the five lagoons in Bundala was contaminated due to development schemes diverting its agricultural and farming runoff to the lagoons of Bundala park. Thus killing the prawns, crabs, and other small creatures which the birds feed on and birds left without food.

Wild animals of Bundala

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Wetland Cluster within Bundala National Park" (cached copy). iwmi.org. International Water Management Institute. Retrieved 2010-03-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |title%3DWetland+Cluster+within+Bundala+National+Park&cd= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c Template:Si icon Senarathna, P.M. (2005). Sri Lankawe wananthara (1st ed.). Sarasavi publishers. pp. 197–198. ISBN 955-573-401-1. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ "Twenty-three New Biosphere Reserves Added to UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Network". unesco.org. UNESCO. 2005-06-29. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  4. ^ a b "Bundala National Park". srilankaecotourism.com. Eco Team. 2004. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  5. ^ a b Nizam, Ifham (2009-03-17). "Bundala Biodiversity Affected". The Island. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  6. ^ Green, Michael J. B (1990). "Bundala Sanctuary". IUCN directory of South Asian protected areas. IUCN. p. 199. ISBN 2831700302.
  7. ^ a b c "Bundala". unesco.org. UNESCO. 04-07-2006. Retrieved 2009-05-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Template:Si icon Senarathna, P.M. (2004). Sri Lankawe Jathika Vanodhyana (2nd ed.). Sarasavi publishers. pp. 195–198. ISBN 955-573-346-5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ "Sandagiriya Viharaya". gamingamata.gov.lk. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
  10. ^ de Livera, Lankika (Sunday February 22, 2009). "Save Bundala". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-05-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Abeywardene, Rohan (Sunday, May 27, 2007). "Bundala battles for survival". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-05-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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