Those who are familiar with the great author, Leonard Wolf and have read his published diaries will know the history. Wolf, who was governor of the south, lived in Hambantota and regularly visited here. The house where he would stay and relax while here is still standing.

Bundala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1969 and redesignated to a national park in 1993 with land area of 24.00 sq mi.

In 1991 Bundala became the first wetland to be declared as a Ramsar site in Sri Lanka. In 2005 the national park was designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, the fourth biosphere reserve in Sri Lanka. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary on 5 December 1969 and was upgraded to a national park on 4 January 1993.

A section of the park is converted in to Salt production and has been so for a long time.

The ecological areas of the national park contain seven terrestrial habitat types and six wetland types, dry thorny shrubs and herbs being the most abundant plant life.

The avifauna of Bundala consists of Shorebirds, Coastal Seabirds, waterbirds and dry open country forest and nocturnal birds. One of the spectacles here are the Greater Flamingoes who loiter here. Another is the abundance of large flocks of migrant shorebirds and waterfowl. Curlew, wood, marsh and common sandpipers, Pacific golden, Grey, Lesser sand, Greater sand, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers are plentiful along with Common redshanks to mention a few species. The highlights generally are Watercock, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Black and yellow bittern’s, Yellow-wattled Lapwing and many more.

Bundala also is notorious for the concentration of Marsh Mugger and Saltwater Crocodiles.