Gal Oya National Park in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

was established in 1954 and serves as the main

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

for Senanayake Samudraya, the largest reservoir in Sri Lanka. Senanayake Samudraya was built under the Gal Oya development project by damming the Gal Oya at Inginiyagala in 1950. An important feature of the Gal Oya National Park is its

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...

herd that can be seen throughout the year. Three important herbs of the

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

medicine,

triphala Triphala ("three fruits") is an Ayurvedic herbal rasayana formula consisting of equal parts of three myrobalans, taken without seed: Amalaki (''Phyllanthus emblica''), Bibhitaki (''Terminalia bellirica''), and Haritaki (''Terminalia chebula''). ...

: ''

Terminalia chebula ''Terminalia chebula'', commonly known as black- or chebulic myrobalan, is a species of '' Terminalia'', native to South Asia from India and Nepal east to southwest China ( Yunnan), and south to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam.Flora of Ch ...

'', ''

Terminalia bellirica ''Terminalia bellirica'', known as baheda, bahera, behada, beleric or bastard myrobalan (Arabic: beliledj بليلج, borrowed from Middle Persian Balilag), Persian بلیله (Balileh), Sanskrit: Bibhitaka बिभीतक, Aksha is a large ...

'' and '' Emblica officinalis'' are amongst the notable flora of the forest. From 1954 to 1965 the park was administrated by the Gal Oya Development Board until the Department of Wildlife Conservation took over administration. The national park is situated from

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Associated protected areas

The Gal Oya Development Board established several

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s to protect the catchment areas of Senanayake Samudraya and several other reservoirs. This also helped to prevent the

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, a ...

caused by

burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...

of the Thalawa grassland by the villagers. The protected areas established in 1954 are Gal Oya National Park, Senanayake Samudraya Sanctuary, Gal Oya valley north-east Sanctuary, and Gal Oya valley south-east Sanctuary. Together these four reserves accounts for 63,000 ha of land. Administration and protection of the four protected areas, reducing human-elephant clashes and enforcing the flora and fauna ordinance are amongst the duties of the department. Rangers are stationed in four sites: Inginiyagala, Mullegama, Nilgala and Baduluwela. Additionally in 1974 the Buddhangala Sanctuary was also designated. Buddhangala is a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

with

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of a

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circum ...

and other buildings in the nearby Malwattai area.

Features

The elevation of the park varies from 30 m to about 900 m. Danigala, Nilgala, and Ulpotha are the mountains of the park. Rain is received during the North-eastern monsoon with average annual rainfall of . Crossing the Senanayake Samudraya by boat from Inginiyagala is an alternative method of accessing the National Park. Bird’s Island in the reservoir is an island used by birds for nesting. Where Gal Oya falls to the reservoir, water flows in a natural tunnel known as Makara Kata (Sinhalese for dragon's mouth) or simply Makara. Thousands of pilgrims visit

Dighavapi Deeghawapi (Pali, "long reservoir") is a Buddhist sacred shrine and an archaeological site in the Ampara District of Sri Lanka, boasting of historical records dating back to the 3rd century BCE. Water reservoirs, called "tanks", were an important ...

stupa annually which is also situated in the area. The stupa was built in the 2nd century BC on the site where

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

is supposed to have meditated on his third visit to Sri Lanka. Danigala has a historic importance as it was the home to the Henebadde Veddas. A rock near the Henebedde cave contains

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...

inscriptions.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation of the forest is of three types:

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

. The national park contains a substantial area of

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

grasslands known as thalawa in Sinhalese and mountainous grasslands known as pathana. Thalawa grassland is dominated by rough grass species, ''

Cymbopogon nardus ''Cymbopogon nardus'', common name citronella grass, is a species of perennial aromatic plant from the family Poaceae, originating in tropical Asia. It is the source of an essential oil known as citronella oil, which is widely used for its natura ...

'' ("mana") and ''

Imperata cylindrica ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been intro ...

'' ("iluk"). The burnt thalawa grasslands are known as the Damana grasslands and are used for cattle

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and ot ...

by villagers. Rare plants of medicinal value such as ''

Pterocarpus marsupium ''Pterocarpus marsupium'', also known as Malabar kino, Indian kino, Vijayasar, or Venkai is a medium to large, deciduous tree that can grow up to tall. It is native to India (where it occurs in parts of the Western Ghats in the Karnataka- Ke ...

'', ''

Careya arborea ''Careya arborea'' is a species of tree in the Lecythidaceae family, native to the Indian subcontinent, Afghanistan, and Indochina. Its common English names include wild guava, Ceylon oak, patana oak. ''Careya arborea'' is a deciduous tree tha ...

'', and ''

Cassia fistula ''Cassia fistula'', commonly known as golden shower, purging cassia, Indian laburnum, or pudding-pipe tree,U. S. Department of Agriculture, William Saunders; Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; ...

'' are also found in the forest. '' Berrya cordifolia'',

longan ''Dimocarpus longan'', commonly known as the longan () and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambu ...

, '' Mangifera zeylanica'', ''

Diospyros ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark tim ...

'' spp., '' Ziziphus'' spp. and ''Mallotus repandus'' ("wal keppetiya") are the common floral species. 32 terrestrial mammals have been recorded in the park. The

Sri Lankan elephant The Sri Lankan elephant (''Elephas maximus maximus'') is native to Sri Lanka and one of three recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant. It is the type subspecies of the Asian elephant and was first described by Carl Linnaeus under the ...

, Sri Lankan axis deer,

muntjac Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years a ...

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

, Sri Lankan sambar deer, Sri Lanka leopard,

toque monkey The toque macaque (; ''Macaca sinica'') is a reddish-brown-coloured Old World monkey endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is known as the ''rilewa'' or ''rilawa'' ( Sinhala: රිළවා), (hence "rillow" in the ''Oxford English Dictionary''). Its n ...

and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

are among them. Included amongst the reptile species of the park are the

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshe ...

and

star tortoise A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

. More than 150 species of birds have been recorded in Gal Oya. The

lesser adjutant The lesser adjutant (''Leptoptilos javanicus'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Like other members of its genus, it has a bare neck and head. It is however more closely associated with wetland habitats where it is solitary ...

spot-billed pelican The spot-billed pelican (''Pelecanus philippensis'') or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially larg ...

and red-faced malkoha are some of the park's resident birds. The

Indian cormorant The Indian cormorant or Indian shag (''Phalacrocorax fuscicollis'') 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. It is a g ...

Oriental darter The Oriental darter (''Anhinga melanogaster'') is a water bird of tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water ...

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more north ...

, and

lesser whistling duck The lesser whistling duck (''Dendrocygna javanica''), also known as Indian whistling duck or lesser whistling teal, is a species of whistling duck that breeds in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They are nocturnal feeders that during ...

are among the common water birds of the Senanayake reservoir. The

white-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...

, and

grey-headed fish eagle The grey-headed fish eagle (''Haliaeetus ichthyaetus'') is a fish-eating bird of prey from South East Asia.Robson, C. (2000). ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia''. UK: New Holland Publishers. It is a large stocky raptor with adults h ...

are the notable raptors of the area. Gal Oya National Park's butterfly species include the endemic lesser albatross. Axdeer.jpg, Sri Lankan axis deer Grey-headed-fish-eagle.jpg,

Grey-headed fish eagle The grey-headed fish eagle (''Haliaeetus ichthyaetus'') is a fish-eating bird of prey from South East Asia.Robson, C. (2000). ''A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia''. UK: New Holland Publishers. It is a large stocky raptor with adults h ...

Senanayake Samudraya (Gal Oya).jpg,

Heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...

s and other birds rest

Threats and conservation

Illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a ...

has cleared of the forest. Smuggling of medicinal plants also has been recorded. Inadequate ranger staff has made it difficult to prevent these crimes. The actions of the Department of Wildlife Conservation themselves came under criticism after the department failed to send a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

to attend an injured elephant. A jungle corridor has been proposed between Gal Oya and Maduru Oya National Parks.

References

External links