Closely following the Buddhist tradition of conservation that dates back over 2,000 years, Sri Lanka features no fewer than nine national parks and seven bird sanctuaries. Among the 12, 259 endangered species listed by the World Conservation Union, 43 can be found in the island’s national parks. Sri Lanka though small in size is one of the few places on earth where the world’s largest land and sea mammals can be seen in a day. Home to the inimitable Asian Elephant, Sri Lanka’s southern Ocean waters are the playground to the giants of the sea- the docile Blue Whales.