Abstract:
Introduction: Sri Lankan elephants (elphahas maximus maximus) more necessity and
unrestricted natural corridors to migrate to find its seasonal ecological niche as natural way of
life as well as to avoid pressure in their home ranges. As Study Area, Yala National Park
(YNP) is facilitating more than 400 elephants. The objective of this paper is to find the causes
and directions of elephants migration from YNP. The fieldwork was conducted in occasional
nodes around the park through observation and interviews with officers and local people in
December 2014 and March 2015.
During the dry season between March and September, 60 % of the total elephants migrate
from YNP due to lack of carrying capacity, besides 03 % wander to find minerals and 5%
wander to other areas due to attraction of fruits and vegetables around the park, in March and
April at night around 7.00 pm to 1.00 am they spend outside the park. Due to the human
interference in the park including setting fire, cutting trees, hunting, shooting at elephants,
building fences and huts, visitors hooting motor vehicle hones, shouting, flashing their
cameras and throwing stones direct 07% to wander outside the park. In addition 35%
migrate as their annual routine from YNP. Elephants migrate from North Western Block of
the Park to Maligawila and Moneragala jungles, from Western Block of the Park to
Lunugamvehera, which acts as a national park as well as a corridor, from Yala East: Eastern
Block of the Park to Poththuvil jungle and from Block I and II: of the Park to Bundala. This
is very obvious during March to September but peak in May to July.
