Observing wildlife and marine life in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is becoming more and more popular as a tourist hotspot and one of the main tourist attractions is wildlife and marine life viewing. Although it is a small country compared to most other countries, Sri Lanka has more than 50 nature reserves and national parks. Sri Lanka is also in the International Whaling Associations Protected Area and the southern coast of Sri Lanka is in close proximity to whale migration routes, making it an ideal spot for whale watching and other marine creatures. Elephants, deer, buffalo, wild boar, monkeys, crocodiles, and peacocks are common in most national parks, and black bears and leopards are found in some national parks. When it comes to marine life, dolphins, blue whales and sperm whales are the most commonly sighted, but if you are willing to snorkel the coral reefs you can see many more.
Many tourists love to see elephants, observing these majestic creatures in their natural habitat is a truly satisfying experience. Although elephants are found in most national parks in Sri Lanka, Udawalawe, Minneriya and Wasgamuwa National Parks are the best for seeing elephants. If you want to see elephants in a semi-wildlife condition and want to take part in activities like bottle feeding baby elephants, you can also visit the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. The leopard is another animal that tourists love to see, but spotting them is much more difficult. Your best chance is in Yala and Vilpattu National Parks and the best time to see leopards is during February and March when it is the dry season. If you are hoping to see leopards and bears, it is best if you can book a wildlife bungalow within one of those national parks, they are located near places where these animals are often seen. If all else fails, you can easily visit the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela, which is very close to the main city of Colombo. You can see all these animals and more there.
Sri Lanka is fast becoming a popular destination for whale and dolphin watching. As mentioned above, the southern coast of Sri Lanka is very close to the migration routes of the whales, so the chances of seeing whales are very high. Apart from that, due to the increase in tourism, commercial whale watching tours are now being run and some are even run by the Sri Lankan Navy. Sperm whales, blue whales, and spinner dolphins are the most commonly seen large sea creatures. Dondra point is the most popular starting point for whale watching tours, but many other towns on the south coast have whale and dolphin watching tours. If you are a bit adventurous you can visit places like Hikkaduwa where there are coral reefs and you can explore the marine life in more detail.