Let's Discover a Lush, Tropical Savanna Forest in Sri Lanka

If you are a person who enjoys being in wilderness, observing the animals, looking at endless green, listening to the murmur of Mother Nature and feeling the cool breeze, I have good news for you. You are going to discover such a place, a unique eco system which will be a unique experience.

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You must be eager to know what this place is by now. Well, it is Nilgala forest national park of Sri Lanka that you are going to learn about. It is the most prominent Savanna forest in Sri Lanka. This, like other savannas, has typical herbs. These savannas catch wildfire every year. They have underbrush of grass and the trees that scatter here and there are all well adapted to be resistant to fire.

SAVANNAH CAT

Nilgala is located in the Eastern and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka. The forest spreads over 26000 hectares and administered by both forest and wildlife conservation departments of Sri Lankan government.

You can reach the park by either going from Colombo to Kandy and then to Bibila, on Bibila-Inginiyagala road, or using Bibila- Batticoloa road.

You would not find any tracks except those used for conservation purposes or any camping or lodging facilities in the part that belongs to department of wildlife conservation, but the section belonging to Galoya national park has tracks and camp sites.

The west side part of the park has three jeep-tracks, a boat track from the dam of Senanayaka Samudraya basin, giving you a panoramic view , a traveler's lodge with a capacity for ten people, and three camp sites.

There are solitary rocks and mountains here and there, pools of water, valleys, and slopes in the park, but the main feature is the Savanna. Short and tall grass with scattered solitary trees is the typical feature of that.

Nilgala, Danigala, Yakunnahela, Hamanawa, Kahatatuwa, and Mahakadakanda are the main rock formation in the forest premise. Nilgala is the grandest of them all, and it has such a rich community of herbal plants.

Senanayaka Samudraya, a man made water reservoir of 19250 acres is on one side of the park. There are many mountain ranges surrounding the park which adds to the beauty of it.

The river Galoya flows through the park.

With the prominent Savanna, mixed dry and evergreen forest feature can be seen there too. The annual average rain pour is about 1700mm, which comes from north eastern monsoon and the average temperature is about 20 centigrade.

The plant community of the forest consists of grasses such as Kudukumberiya, Kukurumana, Pengirimana, Mana, and Iluk, as local folks call, and various hard-wood trees.

There are a significant number of wild elephants in Nilgala. Among other mammals, there are sambour, deer, wild buffalo, wild boar, fox, fishing cat, porcupine, pangolin, toddy cat, mongoose, leopard and sloth bear.

Nilgala is also famous for birds. Almost every Sri Lankan dry zone bird can be found there. There are local, endemic and migrating birds. Wet land bird species are present too.

No enough studies have been done about the amphibians that live there. Every Sri Lankan dry zone reptile has been reported in Nilgala. Pythons, crocodiles and some deadly poisonous snakes are also among them.

Nilgala is also known for its butterflies and bees too.

Does this sound fascinating? Trust me; the actual beauty of this wilderness is far beyond my expression. If you visit Nilgala forest national park once, you would want to go there again

Let's Discover a Lush, Tropical Savanna Forest in Sri Lanka

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SAVANNAH CAT

Savanna Cats

Savanna Cats are the result of breeding of an African Serval wild cat with a domestic cat. This produces a large, tall and slim, wild looking cat with a playful personality and dog-like loyalty.

Charecteristics

SAVANNAH CAT BREEDERS

Savannah Cats are one of the larger breeds of domestic cats. The markings of the coat tend to be that of an exotic looking spotted tabby. The face of Savannah cats have a tear-stain marking from the inner point of the eye downward. The tall, erect ears have ocelli, a central light band bordered by black, dark grey or brown. The tail is short with black rings and a black tip. The eyes may be green, brown, or gold and are slightly hooded. Early generations were known for a light coat and dark spots. Today the breed standard identifies four color variations:

Brown spotted tabby, shades of brown coat with dark spots Silver spotted tabby, silver coat with black or dark gray spots Black, black with black spots Black smoke, black tipped silver with black spots.
Temperament

Savannah Cats are playful and social, interested in dogs and children. They possess a dog-like loyalty and will follow their owners around the house and can also be trained to walk with a leash. They frequently greet people with head-butts or an unexpected pounce. Savannah Cats are known for their ability to jump from a standing position as high as eight feet to the tops of refrigerators and high cabinets. They have no fear of water, in fact, they may play in it.

History

In 1986, Judee Frank crossbred an African Serval with a domestic cat producing the first Savannah. In 1989 Patrick Kelly purchased one of Franks kittens and started pursuing other cat breeders in an attempt to develop this new breed. Finally Kelly convinced Joyce Sroufe to join him in founding the Savannah Cats breed and in 1996, they wrote the original version of the breed standard.

Early generations of Savannah Cats weighed from 10 - 25 lbs, while some breeders report Savannahs weighing in at 30 lbs. More recent generations are usually between 8 - 17 lbs. It was relatively common in the early generations for these cats to chirp and hiss, like their wildcat fathers, and meow, like their domestic mothers. The wildcat hissing sounds like a very loud snake hiss. However you don't hear the chirping and wildcat hissing as often in recent generations.

Some breeders recommended a diet which includes raw feeding of 32% protein and no grains or by-products. Otherwise, care and grooming of Savannah Cats ought to be kept up as with any other housecat; good nutrition, regular play and veterinary visits.

Savanna Cats

For more information on the care and feeding of our favorite furry pets, visit: lovefatcats.com [http://lovefatcats.com/]

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SAVANNAH CAT BREEDERS