Animals return to Yala

 

Animals returning to there natural habitats ...

The animals which left the eastern region of the Yala National Park hit by the tsunami tidal waves have returned. Several elephants were seen roaming around the Buttuwa area several days ago, Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation Dayananda Kariyaswasam told the Daily News yesterday.
Visiting Block 1 of the Yala Park affected by the tsunami over the weekend, Kariyawasam said in addition to elephants, herds of deer were seen roaming about.
More animals could be seen during this period due to the fewer numbers of vehicles driving through the park.
Animals were missing in the eastern region only on one day - December 26, Kariyawasam said.
It is an accepted fact that animals are more sensitive to sound and as at Yala, before the human ear picked up the sounds of the tsunami, they bolted inland. This is very common in countries such as China where the animals running off are taken as a signal of an earthquake. Visitors have also started coming in and the Yala National Park is getting back to normality.

 
 
 
  Kariyawasam said the damage caused to the Yala National Park's eastern region is negligible. Block 1 of the Yala National Park (eastern region) covers 14,000ha. and the tsunami had impacted only on around 200ha.
The entire Yala National Park covers an extent of 14,000 ha. Kariyawasam said the increasing numbers of visitors to Yala is a positive step in building the economy of the South, devastated by the tsunami.