Lunugamvehera

Lunugamvehera

Not surprisingly, many of Sri Lanka's national parks are involved in the conservation of the country's dwindling elephant population. This is especially so at Lunugamvehera National Park, where, as our environment correspondent reveals, the elephants of the region are being encouraged to settle by planting their favorite grasses.

Source: http://diyadahara.com/lunugamvehera-park/

In 1986, the Lunugamvehera reservoir was created in Sri Lanka's south-eastern dry zone through the damming of the Kirindi Oya (river). This was the focal point of the Kirindi Oya Irrigation and Settlement Project, the intention of which was to increase the quantity of water available to rural farmers in the region. While the success of the scheme is debatable - its failure often attributed to a shifting population settling upstream of the reservoir whichincreased the demand for water and reduced the inflow into the reservoir leading to shortages - it did lead to the creation of the Lunugamvehera National Park in 1995. The 23, 498 hectares that are protected constitute the reservoir's watershed and comprise a mildly undulating expanse of scrub jungle and dry zone forest in various 'stages of succession. Pockets of grassland and some rocky up thrusts in the south add texture to a landscape that has long been used by both chena (slash-and-burn) cultivators and wildlife.

There have been intensive modifications within the park recently with almost a dozen smaller tanks being renovated and their peripheries planted with grasses. The impetus for these changes is the desire to keep the elephants (Elephas maximus) from surrounding regions - currently being driven into the park - within the Lunugamvehera boundaries. Not surprisingly, elephants are wide-ranging creatures and notoriously difficult to maintain in a desired location unconstrained. Asa result the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) officials feel compelled to make the National Park as desirable as possible to the newly arriving pachyderms.

Lunugamvehera has not been made readily available to tourists for years and, for most in the country, proof of its existence has been little more than a National Park sign observed in route to the more glamorous Yala National Park. As a result the wildlife within is less accustomed to vehicle traffic and when combined with the profusion of gandapana (Lantana indica), which dominates the edges of the main jeep tracks, they can be challenging to see when not at the open glades and tank edges.

Perhaps the most certain congregations of elephants can be seen in the south-east corner of the park near where the Kapukinissa and Galketiya aras (streams) enter the reservoir. A new park entrance is being constructed in this sector, near the reservoir's long, elevated bund. Accessed from the Thanamalwila Tissamaharama road on the west, the bund in the early morning or later afternoon provides a simply spectacular view. On the Perhaps the most certain congregations of elephants can be seen in the south-east corner of the park near where the Kapukinissa and Galketiya aras (streams) enter the reservoir. A new park entrance is being constructed in this sector^ near the reservoir's long, elevated bund. Accessed from the Thanamalwila/Tissamaharama road on the west, the bund in the early morning or late afternoon provides a simply spectacular view. On the north side the taut skin of the reservoir ripples in the breeze, the slanting sun caressing it gently with a warm, golden touch. Fishermen cut through the waters in their sharp, sleek vessels dropping nets as they go. To the south extends a seemingly limitless expanse of vegetation, including some natural forest but dominated mostly by a mind-numbing quantity of banana trees, a result of the Irrigation scheme. As one drives east the rocky hills gain prominence. At 290m, Sittarama Peak is the highest within the park's boundaries but it is the slightly more distant 424m Kataragama Peak that rises above its neighbors to visually govern the scene.

The main entrance, the only one open at the moment, is reached via a short, shaded track off the A2 at Thanamalwila. A rustic black iron bridge spans the Kirindi Oya, guiding The visitor through a healthy patch of elegant riverine forest where mighty kumbuk (Terminalia arjuna) trees stretch and bend over the flowing waters rubbing shoulders with strong, straight halm ilia (Berrya cordifolia) and densely crowned mi (Madhuca longifolia) trees. (See nature, p.58)The ticket office and entrance are understated, adorned with a quaint woven stick fence and the odd skull. During the wet season (October to March), the roads are thick with mud and require a four-wheel drive vehicle, and even in the dry season sudden rain can transform the hard earth into a cloying quagmire in places. A track leads south to the Rathmal Wewa (lake) where elephants leave their massive rounded tracks interspersed with the small, sharp impressions of axis deer (Axis axis) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). The jungle silence is often broken by the straining chorus of pea fowl (Pavo cristatus), the indignant pronouncements of endemic, emblematic jungle fowl (Gallus lafayettii) or the sharp, piercing cry of a crested hawk eagle (Spizaetus cirrhatus).

It is worth looking under leaves and in the crux of trees when in lunugamvehera as it is home to some of the island's nationally threatened amphibians including the mottled, charmingly grotesque Atukorale's dwarf toad (Bufo atukoralei) and burrowing frog (Tomopterna brevlceps). The possibly endemic Sri Lanka wood frog (Rana gracilis) can also be sometimes seen, well-camouflaged against the black and brown backdrop of a branch or trunk. The heavyset marsh crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) occupies the main reservoir while a variety of Calotes species can be seen including the common but quite remarkable green garden lizard (Calotes). An arboreal species for the most part, this fairly large lizard is characterized by its white striped emerald-green body and impressive row of spikes that run down its spine. The male of the species distinguishes himself with a vivid scarlet head and blue patch around the eye as well as a flap of skin that hangs below the chin. The common agamid lizard (C. versicolor) is similar in morphology but its basic brown body makes differentiation fairly straightforward. The semblance of link between Uda Walawe National Park and the Protected Area Complex in the east and represent the impressive attempts by the country's authorities to ensure the continued co-existence of humans and elephants. Current controversy over grazing rights within the park underlines the fragile balance that must continually be negotiated on a small landmass Inhabited by such a dense populations.

So if are driving down to Yala, stop off for an afternoon at Lunugamvehera to explore yet another of Sri Lanka's many wilderness adventures. The efforts being made to accommodate both increased numbers of visitors and elephants, as well las the combination of ancient caves, small jungle tanks, riverine forest patches, scrub and a massive reservoir ensure a memorable excursion.