Kaudulla National Park is located 224 km away from Colombo and is a national park. It was pronounced a national park very recently (April 1st of 2002) becoming the 15th park in the country. The Birdlife International indentifies Kaudulla as an Important Bird Area. Before becoming a national park it was one of the 16 irrigation tanks built by King Mahasen. It attracts a variety of plant and animal life with a large prominence in large mammals, fish and reptiles. The faunal species recorded in the park include 24 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles, 26 species of fish, and 160 species of bird. Kaudulla park is supposedly said to be the only national park in Sri Lanka to have albino Axis Deer. Fish species in the tank include the freshwater Oreochromis mossambicus. Fejervarya pulla is an endemic amphibian to Sri Lanka that inhabits the National Park.
Transmigration of elephants
Kaudulla provides a special protection for elephants. More than 250 elephants are said to live in the park itself. An elephants corridor is also erected between the Somawathie stupa and the Minneriya National Park. The elephants migrate from the park to the Minneriya tank during the drought period. So if you want witness this event the best time to visit the park would be around the month of September.
Tanks in Kaudulla
Kaudulla houses a lot of man-made tanks, the main one being built by King Mahasena. Olumadu wewa, Minneriya-Kanthale Yoda Wewa are names of a few tanks in the park.
