The use of walkie-talkies inside Kumana National Park is completely prohibited from Thursday, park authorities have announced, in a rule covering tourist jeeps, tourist bungalows and tourist camps within the park.
The decision was taken in view of the harm allegedly caused to wildlife and the environment by walkie-talkie use inside the park, the Daily Mirror reported.
The Park Warden of Kumana National Park said the regulation takes effect park-wide from 1 October 2026. Tourists, safari operators and other relevant parties have been told to refrain from using the devices anywhere inside the park.
Why it matters to safari operators
Two-way radios are standard equipment in Sri Lanka’s safari trade. Drivers use them to pass on sightings between vehicles, which concentrates jeeps at whatever animal has just been spotted — the practice behind recurring complaints about crowding and harassment of wildlife at the island’s busier parks.
Removing radios from the park therefore changes how safaris are run there, not just what equipment is carried.
Kumana, on the eastern edge of the Yala complex in the Ampara district, is best known as a bird sanctuary. Its mangrove swamp lagoon is a major nesting ground for waterbirds, and it also holds elephants and leopards.
What the announcement does not say
The Daily Mirror’s account is brief and leaves several practical questions open. It does not state what penalty applies for breaching the rule, how it will be enforced, whether it extends to mobile phones or other radio equipment, or whether the Department of Wildlife Conservation intends to apply the same restriction at other national parks.
It also does not name the Park Warden or cite any study underpinning the finding of harm. No other verified newsroom had reported the ban at the time of writing.