Minneriya National Park is considered prime habitat for elephants due to the large number of elephants attracted to the edge of Minneriya Reservoir.
Minneriya National Park Minneriya National Park (Sinhala: මින්නේරිය ජාතික වනෝද්යානය; Tamil: மின்னேரியா தேசிய வனம்) is a national park situated in Polonnaruwa District, Sri Lanka. The park is considered prime habitat for elephants due to the large number of Asian elephants that are attracted to the grass fields on the edge of the Minneriya Reservoir during the dry season. It is the only park in the country where a large clan of elephants can be found in one place and this is recognized as the largest Asian elephant gathering in the world (Pastorini et al., 2020; Pathirana et al., 2021; Rathnayake, 2016). Minneriya is part of a large protected area system that allows free movement of elephants and includes the Kaudulla and Angamedilla National Parks, Giritale Sanctuary, Hurulu Eco-Park and Forest Reserve and Gal Oya Forest Reserve (Pastorini et al., 2020). History Minneriya was declared as a national park on 12 August 1997 and opened for visitors in May 1998 (Pathirana et al., 2021; Wijerathna & Senevirathna, …
