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Sigiriya
It is a small village ten miles off Dambulla in the district of Matale. Visitors go there nearly every day to climb its huge Rock of ancient fame and see the beautiful paintings on a part of its walls as well as the interesting ruins found there. This Rock is very steep and is about 600 feet in height. It was once the 'fortress' of a king of Ceylon who built a city around it and ruled from there for eighteen years. Here is the story of this king.
About fifteen centuries ago King Dhatusena, the builder of Kalawewa Tank, ruled at Anuradhapura. He had two sons, Kasyapa and Moggallana, and a daughter. Kasyapa was, however, not born of the queen. His mother was a woman of low birth, and Kasyapa therefore had no claim to the throne. Moggallana, on the other hand, was born of the royal queen and was the rightful heir. The king's daughter married the 'senapathi' (the Commander-in-chief of the king's army) but her mother-in-law was a cruel woman and she ill treated her. When the king heard of this he flew into such a violent rage that he burnt the mother-in-law alive! Angered by this wicked deed, the Senapathi now looked out for a way of revenging himself on the king. Knowing that Kasyapa was displeased with his father, because his low birth prevented him from becoming king after him, the Senapathi urged him to rebel against the king. Kasyapa readily agreed. He captured his father with the Senapathi's support, and is said to have stood him up against a wall and buried him alive by plastering him over with clay! He tried to seize his brother, Moggallana, too and do away with him because he feared that some day Moggallana would make a bid for the throne. But Moggallana was too quick for him. He escaped to India.
Kasyapa now placed himself on the throne and ruled at Anuradhapura. His subjects, however, were displeased with him over the foul murder of his father, and he lived in constant fear of a rebellion. He also feared that his brother, with an army from India, would invade Ceylon at any moment. So he moved his capital to Sigiriya where, on the top of the Rock, he built himself a large and beautiful palace. He built a wonderful staircase leading to it through the mouth of a huge lion carved out of stone. He named the Rock "Sinha-giri" or "Sigiri" which means "Lion Rock'" Round this he built a moat to protect himself against enemies. On a side of the royal palace he had a large pond made. Several watch-towers, built on the summit of the Rock, overlooked the surrounding country.
Kasyapa reigned from this Rock fortress for eighteen years unitl Moggallana came with a powerful army to wage war on him. Instead of waiting for him in his fortress he came down the Rock and bravely rode forth to meet his brother. On the way he came across a muddy place and he turned his elephant back to go along another way. His men, however, thought that he was turning aside to avoid a battle, and so they fled, leaving him all alone. Feeling ashamed to fall into the hands of his brother, Kasyapa killed himself by cutting his throat with his own sword.
Many of you may have visited the world famous Sinharaja Forest Reserve, which is a national park and a biodiversity hotspot in our country. At a time Planet Earth is facing the threat of globe al warming, it is important to protect and preserve such valuable forest cover. The move by the Government to expand the existing forest area of this unique bio- sphere is indeed laudable. . The Sinharaja Forest which is located in the Sabaragamuwa "and Southern Province is 88.64 km2 (34.22 sq. mi) in extent at present and comprises a wide range of fauna and flora, some of which is endemic to our country. It was first established in April 1978 with the Department of Forest Conservation as its governing body. Due to the rich diversity of the fauna and flora found in the reserve this place was designated a Biosphere Reserve and World heritage site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1988 and endorsed by an Act of Parliament. The forest range which consists of 11.187 hectares will now be expanded by another 2,488 hectares with the aim of preventing state land being encroached, deforested or used for commercial purposes.
The total land' area to be added will comprise 12 blocks of land from the Ratnapura District and four blocks of land from the Matara District, presently under the Land Reforms Commission (LRC). This land will be vested with the Department of Fore Conservation soon.
Studies on the fauna Sinharaja have revealed there is a high degree endemism among the butterflies, fish, amphibians, reptiles, bird and mammals. The most common deer species is the Sambhur.Th Monk deer and Barking deer are also found within the reserve Leopards are very seldom sighted, but their frequent presence has been confirmed by tracks and other signs. Badger Mongoose and the Golden Palm Civet have been occasionally sighted.
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The most commonly seen primate is the Purple faced Leaf Monkey. The rare endemic birds to be seen in Sinharaja are the Redfaced Malkoha, the Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, the Ashy-headed Babbler, and the White - headed Starling and the Green billed Coucal the rarest of Sri Lankan birds. The Agamid are the best represented group of reptiles, the most common being the Green Garden Lizard. Among the snakes, the Green Pit Viper and Hump-nosed Viper are commonly found in this forest and are endemic to Sri Lanka. The amphibians are fairly well represented in the reserve and nine endemic species have been identified.
The vegetation of Sinharaja , may be described either as a tropical lowland rain forest or tropical wet evergreen forest. Some striking characteristics of the forest are the loftiness of the dominant trees, the straightness of their bole, the abundance of regeneration and the diversity of species.
Children have their own likes and dislikes. There are certain places that they like to visit and certain places that they wouldn't care too much about. Given the chance to select a place to visit, what would you do? What would
you select? The Zoo or the Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala is sure to feature very prominently on such a list.
But now, things are changing for the better. The "authorities have realized that the zoo continues to be popular among the public, right from the Montessori student to the pensioner. They have realized that even with poor facilities and outside matters like .bomb blasts, the income of the zoo had been steadily increasing.
Food supplies
One such area which has received a boost is the supply of food for the zoo animals. For instance, foreign animals which have been introduced to the zoo are initially given their normal diet, without giving too much
consideration to the expenditure. This is done with the intention of safeguarding the new arrivals.
All the animals are fed on time, on the diet that is allocated to them, according to the required amount, depending on the needs of the animal. The feeding routine has been planned by the zoo's veterinary surgeons, after taking into account all information regarding the animals. The zoo produces food for these animals at its own farm at Ratmalana. This farm produces most of the food (grass and meat) required for the animals, while other things are bought at the local market. For a long time, the zoo has been in the habit of buying the necessary leaves and other food requirements from well-known suppliers who had been guaranteed to supply the best for the animals. Well-wishers who like to contribute vegetative matter (for example, tree leaves for animals) can contact the zoo for their donations. However, it is important that they are in good condition. There is also a rather strange incident which takes place at the zoo at meal times around 2.00pm. Birds which are not residents of the zoo, for instance the pelicans which are seen in and around Beira Lake in Colombo, all make a beeline to the zoo to partake in the feast, when the zoo birds are being fed. How they know this or how the message has spread, no one knows, but there they are.... right on cue. The zoo is a lovely and very exciting place to visit and is difficult to cover in one day. Likewise, there is much more to write about the zoo; this cannot be done in one article. So we will write more about the zoo in our forth coming issues.
Yala National Park is the most visited and second largest national park in Sri Lanka. Actually it consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public; and also adjoining parks. The blocks have individual names also, like Ruhuna National Park for the (best known) block 1 and Kumana National Park or 'Yala East' for the adjoining area. It is situated in the southeast region of the country, and lies in Southern Province and Uva Province. The park covers 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi) and is located about 300 kilometres (190 mi) from Colombo. Yala was designated as a wildlife sanctuary in 1900, and, along with Wilpattu it was one of the first two national parks in Sri Lanka, having been designated in 1938. The park is best known for its variety of wild animals. It is important for the conservation of Sri Lankan Elephants and aquatic birds.
There are six national parks and three wildlife sanctuaries in the vicinity of Yala. The park is situated in the dry semi-arid climatic region and rain is received mainly during the northeast monsoon. Yala hosts a variety of ecosystems ranging from moist monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands. It is one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Sri Lanka. Yala harbours 215 bird species including six endemic species of Sri Lanka. The number of mammals that has been recorded from the park is 44, and it has one of the highest leopard densities in the world.
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