Archive
Episode 24 – Sanctuaries in Ampara District
Vigilance prevents a serious accident I was appointed to Ampara on January 4, 2022, as the Assistant Director in charge of Ampara-East. At that time, my service period was 23 years. Ampara East has a substantial extent of forest, including three National Parks and four significant sanctuaries. The three National Parks are MaduruOya, Kumana and...
Ishara
Episode 23 – Pigeon Island National Park
Pigeon Island is even more beautiful now I took over as Park Warden of Pigeon Island National Park on February 1, 2019. Pigeon Island, which became a sanctuary in 1963, was turned into a National Park in 2003 because of its biological importance, including the coral reefs and fish species around it. Tourists arrive to […]
Ishara
Episode 22 – Flood Plain National Park
We were on the same path I joined the Department of Wildlife Conservation as a beat officer in 1998. I was transferred to Polonnaruwa in 2006, where Flood Plains National Park is located. It was a Sunday, when criminal actions like animal hunting are typically committed. Four of us headed in that direction to visit […]
Ishara
Episode 21 – Gal Oya National Park
The rescuing of young elephant As far as I remember, this incident happened in 2008. I then worked as a Veterinary Surgeon in the Eastern Region of the Wildlife Department. At that time, the LTTE was war there. There were guns among the people and hunting of wild animals was frequent. There were incidents where […]
Ishara
Episode 20 – Madu Road National Park
Confronting death I joined the Department of Wildlife Conservation on 1st October 2004. I had to serve in North West and Anuradhapura North areas. This is a large area; it covers fairly about half of Sri Lanka’s wilderness and it is very difficult as well. At that time, most of the areas on this side […]
Ishara
Episode 19 – Wildlife Reserves in Batticaloa District
A story about brotherhood It was the year 2014 and those days I was working in Batticaloa District. There are several Reserves located in Batticaloa District and they all belong to the Department of Forest Conservation. There were no Reserves belonging to the Wildlife Department in this area. But the problem of wild elephants is […]
Ishara
Episode 18 – Chundikulam National Park
The end of the leopard In 2019, I worked as the Assistant Director in charge of Kilinochchi area. Kilinochchi area has 2 National Parks. Those areChundikulam and Delft National Parks. There are small lakes in Chundikulam area. Migrant birds are first to set foot in the ChundiKulam area. Thousands of migratory birds are in the […]
Ishara
Episode 17 – Delft National Park
Lonely horses on Delft Island Delft is a small Island where there are about 4,000 to 5,000 people live. It is also Divisional Secretariat area called Delft itself. There are horses on Delft Island which were brought in to haul goods during Dutch era. Now they have adapted to native conditions in the Delft. It […]
Ishara
EPISODE 16 – Elephant Transit Home -Udawalawa
Among the happy memories I came to Udawalawe Elephant Sanctuary in 1999. Prior to that, I had the experience of working in the Elephant Transit Home from time to time for acting the service of Dr. Vijitha, the former Veterinary Surgeon in charge when he was on leave. There is a scientific opinion that wild […]
Dimuthu
EPISODE 15 – Horton Plain National Park
Foreseeing the Risk I worked at Horton Plains National Park from 2004-2005 and until the end of 2009-2002. Horton Plains is the largest tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. A large number of local and foreign tourists visit this park every year. From 2009-2012, I worked as a gardener there. We had a staff of about […]
Ishara