Visit to Wilpattu: The largest national park

National parks are amongst the most popular places for both local and foreign travellers. There are 15 national parks in Sri Lanka maintained by the Department of Wildlife.

Amongst the most popular parks are Yala in the deep South and Wilpattu in the North West. Both were declared ‘Protected Areas’ on the same day 74 years ago – on 25 February 1938. In extent, Wilpattu is over 130,000 hectares – 131,667ha to be exact. Yala is smaller with 97,880 hectares.

Stamps are a good vehicle to promote national parks in a country.

They give the opportunity to depict animals and birds in them. In recent years, the Philatelic Bureau has released four issues featuring the national parks in Sri Lanka. The first was on Wilpattu which can be reached driving along the Puttalam-Anuradhapura road and turning off near the 27th mile to the left.

Generally regarded as the oldest and the most highly conserved park in the country, Wilpattu is made up of thick forest, thorny bushes and mini lakes, popularly known as ‘villu’. In fact, ‘Wil-pattu’ literally means ‘the land of the lakes.’

At least forty major ‘villus’ have been identified. These are listed in the Studio Times publication ‘Handbook for the Ceylon Traveller’ which devotes six pages to give an enchanting description of Wilpattu Park in the chapter titled ‘Sanctuary.’

To quote from the book: “There is no getting behind the fact that this park has an infectious calm and tranquillity which envelopes all who enter its portals. To experience this, ensconce yourself in a scrub hideout of the edge of a ‘villu,’ switch of all man-made noise and watch.

“There are no dull moments here as you scan from left to right… a flock of whistling teal, herds of deer on fringing plain calling to mind Bach’s ‘where sheep may safely graze,’ a solitary wild hare nibbling a yard away, open-bill storks, cormorants, snake birds, a tortoise, crocodiles.

“But wait! Your guide has tugged at your elbow ‘Shh, leopard, leopard.’ Follow his pointing finger for, to the inexperienced ye, the monarch is still invisible, merging with stand and fallen leaf. If you are lucky he may be in a playful mood and will presently bestir himself to sit up, twirl his tail, roll on the sand, yawn, scratch.  “He is a prig and soon he will scatter deer and hare by revealing his regal form and look towards the water bowl with a supercilious air. If it is a hot day and if he has fed, he will stroll down to the water himself and drink his fill and withdraw to the comfort of an arboreal armchair. Half an hour later the deer return, the pigs come grunting in and crocodiles slither out of the sedge-rimmed lake.”

This scene can be pictured in the Rs. 50 stamp showing the leopard moving away from a ‘villu.’

The sloth bear (Rs. 20 stamp) is described as the enigmatic and by no means pretty carnivore.

“It is a complete paradox: with fearsome teeth set in sturdy jaws, it is content to live on the softest fruit, honey and termites; its slow shuffling gait belies its speed and agility and its doleful; expression hides the fire and strength of its ruthless attack. Even the satisfaction of their mating is punctuated by blood-curdling screams and yelling.”

The white belted sea eagle (Rs. 10) glides over the sea looking for fish and dives on top the prey as it comes to the surface. The Kudiramalai area seen in the background was under the sea sometime back. Featured on the Rs. 5 stamp is a barking deer – a rare breed slightly smaller than the spotted deer.