Wilpattu National Park was started in 1905 as a sanctuary for wildlife, and was upgraded into a National Park in 1938. With a size of 1,317 square kilometers, it’s one of the oldest and largest national parks in Sri Lanka. It hosts a variety of vegetation, over 30 species of mammals, and several tens of species of birds and reptiles. Included in the list are threatened, rare and endemic species such as the Sri Lankan elephant, Sri Lankan sloth bear, Sri Lankan leopard, Sri Lankan axis deer, tufted grey langur, water buffalo, sambhur, spotted deer, painted stork, the open bill, little cormorant, Sri Lankan junglefowl, garganey, pintail, whistling teal, spoonbill, black-headed ibis, large white egret, cattle egret, purple heron, greater coucal, Malabar pied hornbill, Indian paradise fly-catcher, Chestnut-headed bee-eater, Indian peafowl, Bengal monitor, Indian rock python, and the mugger crocodile.