An Inland wetland of Man-made origin located in the Semi-arid Zone of the Uva province. The Victoria, Randenigala, and Rantambe (VRR) reservoirs were constructed in the late 1980?s under the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Programme, to meet the energy needs of the country, and to provide irrigation water to the dry zone. To protect the upper catchment of the Mahaweli Ganga, the surrounding land area of these reservoirs was declared a sanctuary in 1987. There are also many small artificial and natural water bodies located in the sanctuary. Nearly 300 species of plants have been recorded from the tropical-semi evergreen forest. The VRR sanctuary supports an extremely rich faunal diversity. The vertebrate fauna includes 30 (3 endemic) species of freshwater fish, 10 (8 endemic) species of amphibians, 35 (8 endemic) species of reptiles, 153 (12 endemic) species of birds, and 29 (1 endemic) species of mammals. The invertebrate fauna include 71 (3 endemic) species of butterflies, and 41 (31 endemic) species of mollusks. Important food fish species in the reservoirs include several species of exotics (Oreochromis mossambicus, O.niloticus, Cyprinus carpio, Labio rohita, Osphronemus gouramy) and natives such as Tor khudree, Anguilla bicolor, A. nebulosa and Etroplus suratensis. Endemic amphibians such as Rana gracilis, Lankanectus corrugata and Polypedates cruciger, along with endemic reptiles such as Xenochrophis asperrimus inhabit the streams around the reservoirs. The waterbirds associated with the reservoirs include numerous species of herons, egrets, cormorants, kingfishers and migratory waders. The raptorial birds include Elanus caeruleus, Haliaeetus luecogaster, Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, and the migratory Pandion haliaetus. Mammals include Elephas maximus, Lutra lutra and Prionailurus viverrinus. Many historical sites such as the ancient Minipe anicut are also located in the sanctuary. The left bank diversion work in the Mahaweli River near Minipe dates back to the 6th century B.C, when King Aggabodi constructed the 17 mile long Minipe Amuna to divert the water to the dry zone for paddy cultivation. Other important archaeological sites such as Mundawathagama, Kandeketiya, Lihiniyagala temple inscriptions, Yatimadura, and Bambaragala inscriptions are found in the Sanctuary. The TREE centre is the only established visitor center in the area.

Victoria, Randenigala & Rantanbe Reservoirs Related references