If you are a wildlife enthusiast especially interested about exotic birds, a tour through the Bundala National Park will provide a significant opportunity for you to witness a variety of local and migratory birds while the landscape of the Bundala National Park mostly consists of dry thorny scrub lands and brackish lagoons.
The park is internationally known for being a winter home to migratory water birds in Sri Lanka of which Greater Flamingos are a highlight and can mostly be spotted during the months of September to March since most birds arrive at the park during the time. This national park is also home to around 200 species of birds and of which 58 are migratory birds while 32 species of mammals have also been identified.
In terms of mammals, Bundala National Park shelters only a small population of elephants. This population varies between 25 – 60 depending on the season. However, in addition to the elephants, Bundala National Park consists of several other mammals such as wild boars, grey & ruddy mongoose, porcupine, giant Indian palm squirrels, black-naped hares, spotted deer, wild buffalo and rusty spotted cats while most commonly seen mammals are the hordes of grey langur and Toque Macaque.
In terms of reptiles and amphibians, the Bundala National Park is abundant with estuarine and mugger crocodiles while turtles laying eggs in the beach during the night is a site every visitor will remember through their lifetime.
The park also has five shallow, brackish lagoons of which three of them have salt pans. They are Bundala Lagoon (520 hectares), Embilikala Lagoon (430 hectares), Koholankala Lagoon (390 hectares), Malala Lagoon (650 hectares) and Mahalewaya Lagoon (260 hectares). Out of the five, Koholankala Lagoon, Bundala Lagoon and Mahalewaya Lagoon are almost entirely developed for salt production.
