Yala Musings - story of a leopard sighting....
 

By 11am Yala was oppressively hot and humid on a late January morning. We were all content after a jungle picnic breakfast of pol rotti's with spicy katta sambol, seeni sambol and dhall, (some very yummy, local, Sri Lankan foods) washed down with hot tea and chilled fresh mandarins from the cooler for desert. Everything was served al fresco from the back of the SUV 4WD. En route to the gate, and now ensconced in comfortable leather seats with air-conditioning we detoured towards Buttawa Wewa and then further on to the Jamburagala Rd to check out a leopard we had seen earlier in the morning. In reality we had barely seen him. The elusive "prince of the dark" had been well concealed from prying eyes, deep inside the lush foliage of a large Tamarind tree along the Jamburagala Rd. Would the leopard still be there almost three hours later? Our tracker Priyantha was supremely confident. He was sure this big male leopard would rest in the tree all day and only descend late in the afternoon when the blazing sun had descended towards the horizon. The morning sighting had been but a fleeting glimpse of a few coloured spots of a leopards butt. It had been barely visible through the thick foliage.
Approaching the spot once again with anticipation everyone craned their necks and searched on the tree. Lo and behold the leopard was still there! And we were lucky as it had turned around and had repositioned itself, now facing in our direction. It was still not easy to get a clear view of its face which was obscured by branches and leaves. Yala does not allow any off road driving so we had to struggle to find a vantage point from which we could see the animal. The gravel jeep track was heavily lined with thick scrub jungle. Inching the vehicle forwards and backwards several times over with my daughter guiding me, everyone contorted into various acrobatic yogic positions inside the vehicle to try and get a glimpse. With the help of binoculars and juggling and fumbling a heavy bean bag and the Canon with the big 500mm mounted, we finally found a “sweet” spot from where we could just see him between the mass of branches, twigs and leaves. Some leaves were still obscuring his face, however, every now and then a little waft of the breeze would part the leaves like a cinema curtain and for a few magic moments the leopards face would be just about visible. Damn! A branch still was in the way. And then in all his arrogance the beautiful cat swiveled around and gave me “The Look”……..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31829627@N02/4332406076/

For photos of leopards and other beautiful nature from Sri Lanka please visit my above Flickr gallery.

Regards
Mohammed

Great story--love the photos and especially "The Look."

Wow. Nice shot, well worth the effort.

Glad you enjoyed the pics.

Femi, is your long planned trip to Sri Lanka happening?

Hi Mohammed,
I've just sent out enquiries with an outline of what I think I'd like to do, but of course it could all change. The minimum number of nights I usually spend at a location is 3. I prefer to have a base and go out on day trips. I'm planning on next February- I know it's a long ways off, but I'm one of those people who plan waaaaay in advance. Here's what I have so far:

1 Arrive CMB. Overnight the Wallawwa
2 Drive to Yala National Park, Mahoora Tented Camp
3 Mahoora Tented Camp
4 Mahoora Tented Camp
5 Mahoora Tented Camp
6 Drive to Habarana (Cinamon Lodge.)
7 Cinamon Lodge (Sigiriya)
8 Cinamon Lodge
9 Cinamon Lodge (Kandy Day Trip. See Dance show?)
10 Cinamon Lodge
11 Drive to Ceylon Tea Trails
12 Ceylon Tea Trails
13 Ceylon Tea Trails
14 Ceylon Tea Trails
15 Drive to Wallawwa (Pinewalla Elephants)
16 Drive to airport. Depart.

Hi Femi - sorry just saw this itinerary, the sequence of places is not very logical and you will be travelling several hours back and forth.

Suggest following sequence

Airport--->3hours to Habarana/Sigiriya---> 4 hours to Tea Trails---->3 hours to Yala ---> 6 hours to Airport.

Also consider that from Yala direct to the airport will be a six hour drive, perhaps you could break journey by staying one night enroute in Galle or some other place along the south western coastline. However if you are really really into the wildlife and Yala go for it and stay the four nights at Yala and do the direct drive back.

Hi Mohammed,
I may end up altering the sequence. I have found that it is easier to increase the level of luxury as one travels, rather than start out with the high point, so I wanted to save Tea Trails till the end. Good idea to add a stay in Galle on the way to Yala. Thanks for th info on driving times.

Yep, after 4 nights of camping in Yala your sure going to have all your cobwebs blown out and a bit of luxurious pampering will go down very nicely, that of course is provided you have not been eaten by a leopard or trampled by an elephant or mauled by a bear.... jus joking eh! Mahoora is a superb outfit, I know the owners Rukmal and Anurudha well, they do wilderness management training for my company staff and always bring them back super charged with motivation and team spirit.

Good to have positive feedback on Mahoora, looking forward to it, trampling and mauling notwithstanding LOL!

just saw your photos AMAZING thanks