Location Northern Province Owner Government of Sri Lanka Established September 24, 1954 | Area 43.3 km² Nearest city Mannar, Sri Lanka | |
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Administrator Department of Wildlife Conservation | ||
Giant's Tank Sanctuary (Tamil: கட்டுக்கரை குளம் சரணாலயம் Kaṭṭukkarai Kuḷam Caraṇālayam) is a wildlife sanctuary in northern Sri Lanka, approximately 20 km (12 mi) south east of Mannar.
Contents
History
Giant's Tank and its surrounding area was designated as a sanctuary on 24 September 1954 under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (No. 2) of 1937. It had an area of 3,941 ha (9,738 acres) in 1990. It currently has an area of 4,330 ha (10,700 acres).
Giant's Tank Sanctuary has been subject to illegal deforestation to make way for banana plantation for the Dole Food Company.
Flora and fauna
Giant's Tank is surrounded by rice paddies and dry scrub forest. Numerous varieties of water and wader birds are found in the sanctuary including the Eurasian wigeon, garganey, knob-billed duck and pygmy goose. Fish found in the tank include channa striata, heteropneustes fossilis, labeo dussumieri, Mozambique tilapia, olive barb, ompok bimaculatus and puntius dorsalis. Asian elephants are also found in the sanctuary.