Wildlife of Yala National Park
national park · Sri Lanka
Yala National Park is a national park in Sri Lanka covering about 3,095 km². Our database links 16 mammals and 290 birds species to it, and it features in 2 trip reports.
What wildlife can you see at Yala National Park?
At least 16 mammal and 290 bird species are recorded at Yala National Park (GBIF records and our guides; small mammals and bats are under-recorded). Species visitors look for include Leopard, Sloth Bear, Asian Elephant, Chital and Indian Peafowl.
Species to look for
Mammals most often recorded
- Chital 70 rec.
- Water Buffalo 42 rec.
- Ruddy Mongoose 36 rec.
- Eurasian Wild Pig 36 rec.
- Indian Hare 20 rec.
- Asian Elephant 20 rec.
- Golden Jackal 17 rec.
- Indian Palm Squirrel 13 rec.
- Leopard 11 rec.
- Tufted Gray Langur 7 rec.
- Sambar 7 rec.
- Sloth Bear 6 rec.
- Stripe-necked Mongoose 6 rec.
- Toque Macaque 5 rec.
- Roof Rat 4 rec.
- Asian Wild Buffalo · listed by our guide
Birds most often recorded
- Spotted Dove 2,141 rec.
- Red-vented Bulbul 2,051 rec.
- Indian Robin 1,895 rec.
- Gray Heron 1,794 rec.
- Brahminy Kite 1,686 rec.
- Common Myna 1,678 rec.
- Malabar Pied-Hornbill 1,671 rec.
- Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon 1,629 rec.
- Little Egret 1,551 rec.
- Blue-tailed Bee-eater 1,483 rec.
- Yellow-billed Babbler 1,431 rec.
- Little Cormorant 1,420 rec.
- Barn Swallow 1,420 rec.
- Oriental Magpie-Robin 1,417 rec.
- Crested Treeswift 1,404 rec.
- Yellow-wattled Lapwing 1,400 rec.
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle 1,366 rec.
- White-browed Fantail 1,363 rec.
- Common Kingfisher 1,297 rec.
- Spot-billed Pelican 1,294 rec.
- Indian Paradise-Flycatcher 1,258 rec.
- Great Thick-knee 1,242 rec.
- Purple-rumped Sunbird 1,235 rec.
- Green Imperial-Pigeon 1,224 rec.
- Brown Shrike 1,213 rec.
- Paddyfield Pipit 1,207 rec.
- Common Redshank 1,206 rec.
- Common Iora 1,205 rec.
- Common Sandpiper 1,162 rec.
- Medium Egret 1,154 rec.
260 more birds on the full list.
Trip reports from Yala National Park
- Sri Lanka Mammal Watching Trip Report, March 2011: Royle Safaris — Royle Safaris
- Sigiriya Mammal Watching Trip Report, Sri Lanka 2010 — Jon Hall (mammalwatching.com)
Nearby wildlife sites
- Yala Strict Nature Reserve 11 km · 222 species
- Katagamuwa Sanctuary 20 km · 164 species
- Kataragama Sanctuary 21 km · 121 species
- Kumana National Park 21 km · 249 species
- Great and Little Basses FMA 32 km · 209 species
- Kudumbigala Panama Sanctuary 34 km · 166 species
In our guides
Visiting tips, access and seasons: Yala National Park in our Sri Lanka guide.
1 species are listed for this place by our own guides.
GBIF download for Sri Lanka: doi:10.15468/dl.uu8hcd.
Data last updated 2026-11-05. Species–place links come from GBIF occurrence downloads (GBIF.org) matched to protected-area boundaries from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) and other open boundary sources, plus places listed by our own guides. Record counts are what has been reported to GBIF, not population sizes. Reptiles and amphibians are never shown at park level. How this database works · Data sources and limits.