Bundala National Park is an important place in Sri Lanka where many water birds come to live during the winter. The park is home to 197 bird species, with the greater flamingo being a notable example, as they travel in large groups. In 1969, Bundala was made a wildlife sanctuary, and it was changed to a national park on January 4, 1993. In 1991, it became the first wetland in Sri Lanka to be named a Ramsar site. In 2005, the park was recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, making it the fourth such reserve in Sri Lanka. It is located 245 kilometers (152 miles) southeast of Colombo.
History
The area was made a wildlife sanctuary on December 5, 1969. It became a national park on January 4, 1993, covering 6,216 hectares, or about 24 square miles. In 2004, the park’s boundaries were changed, and its size was reduced to 3,698 hectares, or about 14.28 square miles. In 1991, Bundala became the first place in Sri Lanka to be named a Ramsar wetland. In 2005, it was recognized as a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. In January 2006, an area next to Bundala, covering 3,339.38 hectares, or about 12.89 square miles, was established as the Wilmanna Sanctuary.
Physical features
The area is mostly covered by hornblende-biotite gneiss from the eastern Vijayan series. The climate in the region is a low country dry zone, with an average relative humidity of 80%. The national park includes five shallow, brackish lagoons, three of which have salt pans. These lagoons are Bundala (520 hectares or 2.0 square miles), Embilikala (430 hectares or 1.7 square miles), Malala (650 hectares or 2.5 square miles), Koholankala (390 hectares or 1.5 square miles), and Mahalewaya (260 hectares or 1.0 square mile). Koholankala and Mahalewaya are mostly used for salt production. The climate is tropical monsoonal, with an average yearly temperature of 27°C (81°F). Annual rainfall ranges between 900–1,300 millimeters (35–51 inches), and the dry season lasts from May to September. The park’s elevation ranges from sea level to 10 meters (33 feet). The park was damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but sand dunes helped protect it, causing little damage.
Flora
The national park has seven types of land habitats and six types of wetlands. The most common plants are dry thorny shrubs and herbs. Scientists have recorded 383 plant species from 90 different plant families in the park. Blue-green algae, such as Macrocystis, Nostoc, and Oscillatoria, are the main phytoplankton in all the lagoons. Hydrilla is common in the Malala-Ambilikala Lagoons. Water hyacinth, water lilies, and Typha angustifolia reeds grow in the marshes and streams. The vegetation includes Acacia shrubs like Dichrostachys cinerea, Randia dumetorum, Ziziphus sp., Gymnosporia emarginata, Carissa spinarum, Capparis zeylanica, and Cassia spp. The forest trees include Bauhinia racemosa, Salvadora persica, Drypetes sepiaria, Manilkara hexandra (called Palu in Sinhalese), and less common species such as Chloroxylon swietenia, Azadirachta indica, and Feronia limonia. Halophyte plants, which are salt-tolerant, grow well in the park. Examples include Salicornia brachiata and Halosarcia indica. In the small degraded mangrove area near Bundala Lagoon, Lumnitzera racemosa trees are widespread. A strip of Palu tree (Manilkara hexandra) forest on the sand dunes east of Bundala village is a special kind of forest in Sri Lanka.
Fauna
Bundala National Park has been recognized as an important bird area in the wetlands of South India and Sri Lanka. The park is home to 324 species of vertebrates, including 32 fish species, 15 amphibian species, 48 reptile species, 197 bird species, and 32 mammal species. Among the invertebrates, 52 butterfly species are present. The wetland habitats in Bundala support about 100 species of water birds, with half of them being migratory birds. Of the 197 bird species recorded, 58 are migratory. The National Bird Ringing Programme (NBRP) was started in Bundala in 2005 through a partnership between the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka.
The greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), which travels in large groups of more than 1,000 birds from the Rann of Kutch in India, is a notable species. Other bird species that gather in large numbers include waterfowl such as the lesser whistling duck (Dendrocygna javanica) and garganey (Anas querquedula), cormorants like the little cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger) and Indian cormorant (P. fuscicollis), large water birds such as the grey heron (Ardea cinerea), black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus), Eurasian spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans), and painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala), medium-sized waders (Tringa spp.), and small waders (Charadrius spp.). Rare birds found in the park include the black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), lesser adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus), and Eurasian coot (Fulica atra).
A few Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) still live in the forests of Bundala. Other mammals found in the park include the toque macaque (Macaca sinica), common langur (Presbytis entellus), jackal (Canis aureus), leopard (Panthera pardus), fishing cat (Felis viverrinus), rusty-spotted cat (Felis rubiginosa), mongoose (Herpestes spp.), wild boar (Sus scrofa), mouse deer (Tragulus meminna), Indian muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak), spotted deer (Cervus axis), sambar (C. unicolor), black-naped hare (Lepus nigricollis), Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata), and porcupine (Hystrix indica).
Bundala has a variety of fish, including saltwater species like Anguilla bicolor, marine species like Ambassis gymnocephalus, brackish water species like Chanos chanos, and freshwater species like Channa striata. The park’s herpetofauna includes two species found only in this region: a toad (Bufo atukoralei) and a snake (Xenochrophis asperrimus). Reptiles in the park include the mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris), saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis), star tortoise (Geochelone elegans), Indian python (Python molurus), rat snake (Pitas mucosus), endemic flying snake (Chrysopelea taprobana), cat snakes (Boiga spp.), and whip snakes (Dryophis spp.). The nearby seashore of Bundala is a breeding ground for all five species of globally endangered sea turtles that travel to Sri Lanka.
Threats and conservation
The water quality in the lagoons has changed because extra water from irrigation systems is drained, and waste material from the saltern is released into Bundala lagoon. The homes of wading birds and wildlife in the shrub forest and dunes are in danger because two non-native plants, Prosopis juliflora and Opuntia dillenii, are spreading across the tidal plains in Malala-Ambilikala Lagoons and the sand dunes and nearby scrub forests. Prosopis juliflora spreads easily because of uncontrolled groups of livestock.
The seeds of Opuntia cactuses (called kathu potak in Sinhala) are spread by macaque monkeys, and possibly other animals and birds, that eat the cactus fruits. The cactus also spreads when people cut it and leave the pieces behind, which then grow again. No efforts have been made yet to use the moth Cactoblastis cactorum to control the cactus. Removing the cactus by hand is not possible because the area it has taken over is very large.
Conservation efforts include a project to protect turtles and a program to remove Prosopis juliflora and Opuntia dillenii. Proposed actions are to redraw the park's boundary and expand it to include the northern scrubland, move families who live inside the park, control the spread of non-native plants, build irrigation structures to stop water from flowing, and manage how livestock graze.