Safari jeeps and other vehicles that enter the Yala national park have been ordered with speed limits and imposed with strict rules in order to prevent disruptions to the wild animals.
From 23 October 2017, a maximum of 300 vehicles were allowed per day, but Safari jeep owners and drivers protested against it. Again, the number of vehicles permitted a day has been increased to 600, of them 500 from Palatupana entry point and 100 from Katagamuwa entry point, custodian of the park D.P. Siayasinghe said.
However, these vehicles continue to disrupt the lifestyle of animals in the wild. Yala is mostly visited for its leopards although it boasts of most other wildlife in the country as well.
President of the Safari jeep owners association P.D. Keerthi said there were less than 125 jeeps during the war. Now, the number is around 1,200, but the government has failed to control it, leading to the present situation, he said.
He said they had asked four wildlife ministers to register the Safari jeeps and the Wildlife Department was given details of around 600 of them. But, a minister of the area is not allowing it to proceed, Keerthi charged.
Remove transmission tower
When visitors see an animal, all the jeeps surround it and others are informed by phone about it, which disrupts the animal’s freedom. Oficials are not listening to our requests to remove the transmission tower, while everybody blames the jeeps only, he said.
Training needed for drivers
Keerthi also said there were untrained drivers who worsen the situation for the animals due to their indiscipline.
Park custodian Siyasinghe said they are patrolling the park to nab errand drivers. He said that there were certain animals who are now used to humans, for example an eight year old bear at Uraniya area.
Scientific method needed
According to chairman of the Centre for Environment and Nature Studies Sajiva Chamikara, Sri Lanka’s national parks are very small in extent, although rich in biodiversity, when compared to other countries. He said therefore a scientific method should be undertaken for vehicle entries. For example, mornings are busy times for the animals and they become less active towards noon. It is OK if more vehicles are allowed in the mornings and less vehicles towards the afternoons.
Vehicles make animals sick
Vehicle emissions and the dust they disturb cause respiratory illnesses among the animals, he noted. National parks are intended to protect the wild animals, but promoting tourism and commercial activities in them denies them that safety, he added.
Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi - Hambantota
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