Kumana National Park in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 is renowned for its avifauna

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

, particularly its large flocks of migratory waterfowl

Waterfowl

Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....

 and wading bird

Wader

Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...

s. The park is 391 kilometres (243 mi) southeast of Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 on Sri Lanka's southeastern coast. Kumana is contiguous with Yala National Park

Yala National Park

Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. Actually it consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public; and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names also, like Ruhuna National Park for the block 1 and Kumana National Park or...

. Kumana was formerly known as Yala East National Park, but changed to its present name in 5 September 2006.

The park was closed from 1985 to March 2003 because of the Sri Lankan Civil War

Sri Lankan civil war

The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...

. It was also affected by the Boxing Day tsunami

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

 in 2004.

Physical features

Kumbukkan Oya forms the southern boundary of the national park. Some 20 lagoons and tanks

Irrigation tank

For etymology, see Storage tank#Etymology.In India, an irrigation tank or tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. . It can also have a natural or man-made spring included as part of a structure...

 support the extensive birdlife of the national park.
The lagoons are shallow with depths less than 2 metres (6.6 ft). Kumana villu is subject to occasional inundation

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

 with seawater. The elevation of the area ranges from sea level to 90 metres (295.3 ft). The mean annual temperature is 27.3 °C (81.1 °F) and the area receives 1300 millimetres (51.18 in) of annual rainfall.

Flora

The park's wetland areas are surrounded by dry zone tropical thorn forest.
The inland forest's flora is dominated by Manilkara hexandra

Manilkara hexandra

Manilkara hexandra is a species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the Sapotaceae family that is native to much of south Asia Manilkara hexandra is a species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the Sapotaceae family that is native to much of south Asia Manilkara hexandra is a species in the tribe Sapoteae, in the...

(Sinhalese "Palu"), Hemicyclea sepieria, Bauhinia racemosa, Cassia fistula

Golden Shower Tree

Cassia fistula, known as the golden shower tree and other names, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to southern Asia, from southern Pakistan east through India to Myanmar and south to Sri Lanka. It is the national tree of Thailand, and its flower is Thailand's national flower...

("Ehela"), Chloroxylon swietenia ("Burutha"), and Salvadora persica

Salvadora persica

Salvadora persica , is a species of Salvadora....

species. The dominant tree of the Kumana villu is Sonneratia caseolaris, while Typha angustifolia

Typha angustifolia

Typha angustifolia L., , is a perennial herbaceous plant of genus Typha. This cattail is an "obligate wetland" species that is commonly found in the northern hemisphere in brackish locations...

is the dominant reed. Terminalia arjuna

Terminalia arjuna

Terminalia arjuna is a tree of the genus Terminalia.-Description:...

trees dominate the riverine forests along the Kumbukkan Oya. The common aquatic plant

Aquatic plant

Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...

s of the swamp are colourful Ludwigia

Ludwigia

Ludwigia is a genus of about 75 species of aquatic plants with a cosmopolitan but mainly tropical distribution.Selected species...

spp., Nelumbo nucifera

Nelumbo nucifera

Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae...

, Nymphaea pubescens

Nymphaea pubescens

The Hairy water lily or Pink water-lily is a species of water lily.-Distribution:This plant is common in shallow lakes and ponds throughout temperate and tropical Asia:...

, Aponogeton

Aponogeton

Aponogeton is a genus of 45 - 50 species of flowering plants, the only genus of the family Aponogetonaceae. The Aponogetonaceae is considered to be allied to the Potamogetonaceae - Najadaceae complex of families....

spp. and Neptunia oleracea

Neptunia oleracea

Neptunia oleracea, commonly known in English as Water Mimosa, is a vegetable usually eaten raw in Thailand and Cambodia. It is an aquatic plant cultivated much like rice...

.

Fauna

Kumana Bird Sanctuary, declared in 1938, is included within the Kumana National Park. Kumana is one of the most important bird nesting and breeding grounds in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. 255 species of birds have been recorded in the national park. During April–July months tens of thousands of birds migrate

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 to the Kumana swamp area annually. Rare species such as Black-necked Stork

Black-necked Stork

The Black-necked Stork is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across South and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetland habitats to forage for a wide range of animal prey...

, Lesser Adjutant

Lesser Adjutant

The Lesser Adjutant, Leptoptilos javanicus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is resident breeder in southern Asia from India east to southern China and Java....

, Eurasian Spoonbill, and Great Thick-knee

Great Thick-knee

The Great Stone-curlew or Great Thick-knee is a large wader which is a resident breeder in tropical southern Asia from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka into South-east Asia....

 are breeding inhabitants of the Kumana villu. Waders belonging to families Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

 and Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

 are among the visitors to the area along with waterfowl

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

. Pintail Snipe

Pintail Snipe

The Pin-tailed Snipe, Gallinago stenura, also known as the Pintail Snipe, is a small stocky wader. It breeds in northern Russia and migrates to spend the non-breeding season in southern Asia from Pakistan to Indonesia. It is the most common migrant snipe in southern India, Sri Lanka and much of...

s migrate here flying 9000 kilometres (5,592.4 mi) to 11000 kilometres (6,835.1 mi) from Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

. Asian Openbill, Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...

, Purple Heron

Purple Heron

The Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...

, Great Egret

Great Egret

The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...

, Indian Pond Heron

Indian Pond Heron

The Indian Pond Heron or Paddybird is a small heron. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Iran and east to India, Burma, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They are widespread and common but can be easily missed when they stalk prey at the edge of small water-bodies or even when they roost...

, Black-crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron

The Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...

, Intermediate Egret

Intermediate Egret

The Intermediate Egret, Median Egret, or Yellow-billed Egret is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeder from east Africa across tropical southern Asia to Australia. It often nests in colonies with other herons, usually on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs...

, Little Egret

Little Egret

The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....

, Spot-billed Pelican

Spot-billed Pelican

The Spot-billed Pelican or Grey Pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Pakistan across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes...

, Indian Cormorant

Indian Cormorant

The Indian Cormorant or Indian Shag is a member of the cormorant family. It is found mainly along the inland waters of the Indian Subcontinent but extending west to Sind and east to Thailand and Cambodia...

, Little Cormorant

Little Cormorant

The Little Cormorant is a member of the Cormorant family of seabirds: Aptly named, the Little Cormorant is small in comparison with other cormorants, only 55 cm in length with an average mass of 442.5 g...

, Common Moorhen

Common Moorhen

The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...

, Watercock

Watercock

The Watercock Gallicrex cinerea is a waterbird in the rail and crake family Rallidae. It is the only member of the genus Gallicrex....

, Purple Swamphen

Purple Swamphen

The Purple Swamphen , also known as the African Purple Swamphen, Purple Moorhen, Purple Gallinule, Pūkeko or Purple Coot, is a large bird in the family Rallidae . From its name in French, talève sultane, it is also known as the Sultana Bird...

, White-breasted Waterhen

White-breasted Waterhen

The White-breasted Waterhen is a waterbird of the rail and crake family Rallidae that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly...

, Pheasant-tailed Jacana

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana is a jacana in the monotypic genus Hydrophasianus. Jacanas are a group of waders in the family Jacanidae that are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in shallow lakes, their preferred habitat...

, Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

The Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family . Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize...

, Lesser Whistling Duck

Lesser Whistling Duck

The Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica, also known as Indian Whistling Duck, is a small whistling duck which breeds in South Asia and southeast Asia...

 and Little Grebe

Little Grebe

The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...

 are the bird species migrate here in large flocks. Among the rare birds that migrate to the swap include Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon

Local name- Hariyal.The Yellow-footed Green Pigeon Treron phoenicoptera also known as Yellow-legged Green Pigeon is a common species of Green Pigeon found in South Asia. The species feeds on fruits of a large variety of fruit trees including a number of species of Ficus. They forage in flocks...

, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo

The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, Dicrurus paradiseus, is a medium-sized Asian bird which is distinctive in having elongated outer tail feathers with webbing restricted to the tips. They are placed along with other drongos in the family Dicruridae...

, Malabar Trogon

Malabar Trogon

The Malabar Trogon is a species of bird in the trogon family. It is found in the forests of Sri Lanka and peninsular India. In India it is mainly found in the Western Ghats, hill forests of central India and in parts of the Eastern Ghats...

, Red-faced Malkoha

Red-faced Malkoha

The Red-faced Malkoha, Phaenicophaeus pyrrhocephalus, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. This Malkoha species is endemic to Sri Lanka-Description:...

, and Sirkeer Malkoha

Sirkeer Malkoha

The Sirkeer Malkoha or Sirkeer Cuckoo , is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin. It is a resident bird in the Indian subcontinent....

. Pacific Golden Plover

Pacific Golden Plover

The Pacific Golden Plover is a medium-sized plover.The 23–26 cm long breeding adult is spotted gold and black on the crown, back and wings. Its face and neck are black with a white border and it has a black breast and a dark rump. The legs are black...

, Greater Sand Plover

Greater Sand Plover

The Greater Sand Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as "Greater sandplover", but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is "Greater sand plover"....

, Lesser Sand Plover

Lesser Sand Plover

The Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The spelling is commonly given as Lesser Sandplover, but the official British Ornithologists' Union spelling is Lesser Sand Plover....

, Grey Plover

Grey Plover

The Grey Plover , known as the Black-bellied Plover in North America, is a medium-sized plover breeding in arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding....

, Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...

, Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

The Little Ringed Plover is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill...

, Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

The Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...

, Marsh Sandpiper

Marsh Sandpiper

The Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis, is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia....

, Common Redshank

Common Redshank

The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...

, Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

The Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...

, Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

The Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...

, Little Stint

Little Stint

The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...

, Common Snipe

Common Snipe

The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...

, and Pintail Snipe are the common wading birds of the park.

Tilapia

Tilapia

Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...

 and Mullet

Mullet (fish)

The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...

 are the commonly fished varieties in the area while Channa spp. are also caught occasionally. Mugger Crocodile

Mugger Crocodile

The mugger crocodile , also called the Indian, Indus, Persian, or marsh crocodile, is found throughout the Indian subcontinent and the surrounding countries...

, Indian Flap-shelled Turtle

Lissemys punctata

Indian flapshell turtle is a fresh water species of turtle found in South Asia. The “Flap-shelled” name stems from the presence of femoral flaps that are located on the plastron. These flaps of skin serve the purpose of covering the limbs when they retract into the shell. It is unclear what...

 and Indian Black Turtle

Melanochelys trijuga

Indian black turtle or Indian pond terrapin is a species of turtle found in South Asia.-Distribution:N Bangladesh, C Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Chagos Islands and Nepal....

 are the common reptiles inhabiting the park. Mammals such as Golden Jackal

Golden Jackal

The golden jackal , also known as the common jackal, Asiatic jackal, thos or gold-wolf is a Canid of the genus Canis indigenous to north and northeastern Africa, southeastern and central Europe , Asia Minor, the Middle East and southeast Asia...

, Wild Boar, Sri Lankan Elephant

Sri Lankan Elephant

The Sri Lankan Elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian Elephant, and native to Sri Lanka. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years...

, European Otter

European Otter

The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....

, and Fishing Cat

Fishing Cat

The Fishing Cat is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. In 2008, the IUCN classified the fishing cat as endangered since they are concentrated primarily in wetland habitats, which are increasingly being settled, degraded and converted...

 also visit the swamp to feed. The number of elephants roaming in the Kumana is estimated at 30–40.

Cultural significance and conservation

The Kumana area is part of an ancient civilization that goes back to the 3rd century BC. Rock inscriptions

Epigraphy

Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...

 belonging to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC have also been found in the region. The Kumana National Park lies on the route of the traditional annual foot Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

 to the Hindu temple at Kataragama

Kataragama

Kataragama is a pilgrimage town popular with Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and indigenous Vedda communities of Sri Lanka and South India. The town has Ruhunu Maha Kataragama devalaya, a shrine dedicated to Skanda-Murukan also known as Kataragamadevio...

. Both Tamil and Sinhalese

Sinhalese people

The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...

 communities take part in this pilgrimage.

The number of birds observed in the national park has fallen in recent years. Environmentalist

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

s and wildlife lovers have expressed their concern over a road planned to be constructed from Kirinda to Panama which will run along the coastline of the park.