Yala National Park occupies a large space on the South Eastern coast of Sri Lanka, from Okanda to Hambantota. The history of the area extends up to several centuries ago with the area being mentioned as having been abandoned three centuries before due to ‘insalubrious conditions’ according to a 16th century Spanish cartographer Cipriano Sanchez. This may have been due to the swamps and dangerous animals in the region that caused various diseases that were untreatable at the time. Later during the Yala region was made a Forest Reserve under the British Colonial Government in 1900. An area within the reserve was ordained an exclusive game reserve for the resident sportsmen to hunt in. In 1938, the law was passed to ordain Yala as a National Park.