Leopard in Udawalawe

Around 7 years ago , I got news of a female leopard with some cubs being sighted in Udawalawe National Park. This park is more famous for its elephants, and seeing a leopard is an absolute rarity. The chance of seeing one would be a great opportunity, and hence myself and my friend Hamid decided to go on a day trip to the park early morning and try our luck.

We decided to drive into the park in Hamid's pickup rather than hiring a jeep. We set into the park early morning with some packed breakfast. We reached the rocky outcrop where the leopards were said to be sighted. It was a very tough place to spot anything as besides the rock, the surroundings were covered in 6-7 foot tall elephant grass. Hence we had to focus solely on the rock.

Waiting hours, we had no sighting whatsoever. We decided to head back out as the sun was getting quite hot, and have some lunch before returning back.

Back in the evening, we waited for a very long time circling the rock, and looking at all possible directions for a sighting. While doing the circle, suddenly one vehicle up front said the leopard just crossed the road from the side of the rock to the other side , into the tall grass.

We drove past where the alleged crossing had occurred and waited. Suddenly Hamid spotted the leopard peering from the edge of the grass from his rear view mirror. As we had no time to turn around I opened the door slightly and put my lens out. I caught a glimpse of the leopard hiding in the grass. The angle which I was turning aroound and holding the heavy lens gave me a massive cramp on my torse, but I gritted my teeth and waited , expecting it to cross the road.

But before I could even click my camera the young leopard dashed across like Grease Lighting !

Back in the car, I was wincing in pain from the cramp, and checked my camera thereafter. I had managed to catch only one shot of the cat peering through the bush, the crossing was too fast. But I was not upset as I was very happy in seeing a leopard finally in Udawalawe which is one of the rarest sightings one could get.

Road Trip with my Dad

I had just graduated from my degree, and I was aimless at home. I was looking out for jobs, but there were few and far between.

My father told me he is going to Yala with one of his closest friends Uncle Stefan, and I jumped at the idea and asked if I could tag along.

The journey began from Colombo, and we headed firstly towards Galle. This was 2009, and there was no Southern Expressway, hence we took the good old Galle Road.

We spent 2 nights in Galle at the light house hotel, and we visited some friends of Uncle Stefan along the way.

Thereafter we set off to Yala. I was very excited as I hadnt been out to the wilds in quite some time due to the work in University. Reaching Tissamaharama we filled up the coolbox with crushed ice and with a box full of chilled beer and provisions we set off to Yala.

Our stay was in Nimalawa, just outside the park, and we dropped our bags, and headed into the park with our trusty jeep driver at the time Jagath.

Jagath decided to turn into the Welmalkema Road, and passing the main Kema area we came across a decomposing carcass of a Sambhur kill. Driving a little ahead we came across a leopard on the rocks. This is the first time I moved to a DSLR for photography as I borrowed my father's Canon 350D with a Tamron lens to try and get some photographs. It was too late in the evening and the photographs did not come out as desired. Nevertheless I was happy at the sighting of the leopard peeping from the rocks as a large wild boar passed by. After a few minutes the cat moved back into the rocks.

We turned our jeep around and came back to the kill, and noticed its been moved to a different location. This signified none other than the fact that a second leopard has moved the carcass while we were gone.

We decided to wait for some time at the carcass. It was quite difficult given the overwhelming stench, but we stomached it and waited. All the other jeeps decided to move off, and we remained. After over an hour of waiting, it paid off, when the leopard crossed the path in front of us and moved to the carcass. Given the level of decomposition it was doubtful the leopard was able to find anything to eat in the dead Sambhur which was mostly skin and bones by then. Nevertheless I kept on clicking and was delighted with this sighting. After it has had its fill the leopard crossed teh road and walked deep into the bush.





I was elated at the sighting and happy that my father and Uncle Stef were able to witness it as well.

The next day, we returned to the site, but had no luck, and we continued on our search. We came across the usual wildlife in Yala which was amazing from elephants, to crocodiles to a vast array of birds.

In the evening we returned to Welmalkema and came across a large male who walked across the rocks near the Kema (rock pool).

On our final morning safari, we decided to make a change and headed towards Bundala. We didn't see much wildlife but were happy to have a change of landscape and witness a park I handn't visited since my school days. We did come across a massive bull elephant who was prone to charging vehicles, and we did get abit worried at one time when Jagath had trouble starting the engine, but finally managed to do so and escape in the nick of time.

A great trip, and one of the first "post school" trips which began a new series of adventures for me.

Jungle Cats of Udawalawe

The Jungle Cat, one of the most elusive and rare felines found on the island. Very few people are even aware of its existence, and yet they are found in most parts of rural Sri Lanka.

At first glance , you might mistake it for a normal house cat, but looking closer you will notice, its taller and long legged, as well as having a uniform sandy, reddish brown fur. and noticeable ear tufts which are not seen in regular house cats.

Very keen to see this rare cat during daytime, I was advised to head to Udawalawe to try my luck. With this in mind I made plans to visit with my friends Sapumal and Madhawa.

I managed to get the services of a very experienced tracker in Lionel and a superb jeep driver in Sanath to help us in our search. They were not full optimistic, but said we will try nevertheless.

Heading to the Maw Ara area we were on the lookout for any signs of the cats. Lionel taught me to look out for the chirping of birds in alarm, which is usually the signal the cat is around. Similar to the alarm calls we usually hear from the Spotted Deer and Grey Langur for the presence of a Leopard, in this case we had to wait and listen to the small birds.

As advised, we noticed the sudden flock alarm calls, and we waited. It took an eternity but our driver and tracker both advised us to be patient. And as predicted about an hour later, out came an adult Jungle Cat and her kitten. They were so fast and going in an out of the reeds and bushes, I could not get a clear shot. Before I knew it, they were gone.

Sad about missing the photograph, but happy at the same time in finally catching a glimpse of these beautiful cats, I was determined to try and find one the next morning.

Setting back into the park the next day we scoured the area and could not get any luck in spotting a cat, until mid day, when we were about to head back out, we came across a cat walking along the road in front of us. It was quite a distance away and we did not want to alarm it so we kept our distance and followed. The cat kept walking along the jeep trail and kept looking back at us, before slipping into the tall reeds and dissapearing out of sight. Sadly this time around as well I missed getting a photograph.

Few months later, I was determined to return back to the park and try again. This time I was alone, and went with my chauffer Sampath. On the first day into the park, we saw no cats, but rather many elephants. The next day morning, we headed back in early as possible, and came across a cat which slipped into the bush, but managed to look back at me for a few seconds before dissapearing.

We stopped on the road side for breakfast, and waited. The sun was blazing by this time and we decided to head back out. While driving along, Sampath told me he saw something sleeping underneath a bush. Skeptical I asked Sanath the jeep driver to reverse back. To my surprise it was a jungle cat, fast asleep in the shade. We waited and enjoyed our private time with this feline in slumber. Suddenly an approaching jeep's racing engine work the startled cat, who gave as a look for a few seconds before slipping back in to the bush, but gave me enough time for some photographs.

Elated, I left the park knowing how special and rare a daytime sighting of this predominantly nocturnal cat is'.

Memories- My first visit to Yala National Park

Yala or Ruhunu National Park is the most famous Safari destination in Sri Lanka. The park was out of bounds for a few years due to a terrorist attack in 1996, therefore even after Yala was re opened to the public the school did not want take any risks by taking young school chindren into a place with another possible terrorist threat. I had heard so many stories about Yala, and had seen many old black and white photographs of my mothers trip to the park. Finally during the April holidays of 2000, I was able to go to park which I have heard so much about. For me, this was a big step up from what I was used to. The parks I used to visit at the time, Wasgamuwa, Udawalawe and Bundala all had elephants, but we hardly saw other animals. Even the deer were very shy in these other parks, thus it was a big surprise for me to see so many spotted deer in such close proximity, and being so used to vehicles. It was also the first time I saw wild boar.

We camped at Jamburagala Camp Site, which had a small cement structure, thus not requiring tents. Water was supplied by a well some distance away for water. We were strictly instructed not to go to the well alone as the place was next to some rocky outcrops which were frequented by bears. I remember the well being very stale and the water was very brackish with small shrimp like crustaceans floating on the surface. That evening at around 10.00 PM we heard the unmistakable rumble of an elephant very close to the camp site. Mr. Rohan one of our school masters who joined us on the trip was sleeping in the jeep closest to the elephant. Nirmal Sir had warned us of the phobia Mr Rohan had of elephants. I slowly woke him and whispered that there is an elephant close by. He yelped in fright and scrambled from the back seat into the front seat of the jeep, and from there made a hasty retreat towards the building. The elephant clearly frightened by the noise went on it way. We were in fits of laughter, as Mr. Rohan on other occasions was a very tough individual.

The next day morning we were driving along Uraniya road, and while taking a bend came face to face with a tusker. This was my first tusker in the wild and I was extremely excited. This tusker was named Anuradha and I couldn’t believe my luck, a tusker on my first park round in Yala. We had a face off for a few minutes, and then the tusker went on its way into the bush. Still buzzing with excitement from the encounter I had a hearty breakfast and worked on the camp chores till evening. In the evening round while heading back to the campsite from an uneventful safari I encountered my first leopard on the middle of the road in Jaburagala. It was a large male, and after snarling at the lights of the jeep (it was pitch dark), it started walking along the road, and we followed it, for some distance before it slunk into the darkness of the forest. I was beyond words by then a tusker and leopard in one day was something I could never have imagined back then.  

That night we were all in a jubilant mood, and Nirmal sir seemed to be a little at ease as well , and allowed us to bathe at the well for a little longer than normally allowed. I was given a small camp bed by my friend Bimantha, and I remember it being so flimsy that it would collapse down if I moved too much, and I slept very carefully because Rohan Uncle was sleeping on the floor next to me and as he was very irritable I did not want to upset him. I slept soundly and in the morning I tried to slowly get off the bed and  quietly step over the sleeping Rohan Uncle, but suddenly the bed gave way and  it collapsed with Rohan Uncle underneath. I believe he would have had the shock of his life and the bed with all my weight fell on top of him. I swiftly jumped off him and darted out to the open before he could catch me. I heard him loudly cursing back at the scene of the incident, and I hid from him for the rest of the day.

The next few days we saw one more tusker on the main road. Its name was Kublai Khan after the great Mongol Emperor. It gave a small mock charge and thereafter remained on the road for more than 30 minutes, so we turned back and headed the other direction. We also took part in a small project where we put up sign boards along the Palatupana road warning vehicles of crossing animals and urging them to slow down. This was due to a request made by the park warden as many animals, especially small ones such as monitor lizards and black naped hare, were being run down. We were also given a lecture about the park by one of the senior rangers who visited our campsite. Back then I maintained a field book with notes on all my sightings, and learning’s from each trip.

My first visit to Yala will never be forgotten and will be the first of many visits to this amazing park.

Memories-My First Camping Trip in the Wilds

I will never forget the first meeting of the Wildlife Society which I attended in 1997.  I was the youngest member, and all the other boys were seniors in their late teens. This did not hold me back and I signed up for the first trip of the year, which was a 5 day camping excursion to Udawalawe. The cost was very minimal back then, and the charge per head was around 400 Rupees.  The master in charge Mr. Nirmal Fernando also known as “A.E.N Sir” due to his initials was a very tough character and I was mortally afraid of him as he was our caning master in school, and I had received quite a few lashings in my first term at College. Nirmal Sir in the future years became a very close mentor of mine, and even to this day is like a father to me.

The plan for the trip was that we assemble in front of the College gate at 4.00 AM in the morning. My mother had to dive me there, and brought along Nishantha one of my neighbors as a chaperone as she would have to drive back alone in the dark, as my father was overseas on work. I remember it was a very organized affair, and there were around four jeeps in total, all provided by one of the parents of the boys named Rohan Kulatunga, who we called Rohan Uncle, who would play a big role in most of my jungle adventures in the coming years. We departed at around 5.00 AM, and I was put in a jeep along with all the other junior members, Daham, Bimantha and my cousin Dilsiri. I was the only fresher as the others had gone on trips before me, and I had a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness. This is the first time I was off on my own without my parents and my mother ensured that I had everything I needed, from food, to a complete list of clothes and toiletries. I remember my mother was worried about mosquitoes and ensured that I take a dose of quinine as well as a full stock of repellent. She had packed her famous home made pizzas for my breakfast, and as soon as the seniors got a whiff of it, it disappeared before I could even have a bite. The ride seemed long and tiring, reason being that the roads weren’t as good as they are now, and also because these jeeps were old land rovers and land cruisers and were not made for comfort, but I did not mind, the adventure was something I was looking forward to for a very long time. We reached the park entrance by noon, and headed towards our campsite, Alimankada (Elephant Pass). I was tremendously excited about the fact that we were camping next to a river.  But I did not have time to be idling as there was lots of work to do, as 30 of us got together to set up the campsite and prepare lunch. After a good meal we had a nice cool dip in the river, but Nirmal Sir did not let me go too far as he was responsible for my safety and thus kept me close to the riverbank. The evening game drive was not that eventful and I cannot recall any sightings of elephants. 

Back at the campsite, I had a major dilemma. I need to answer the call of nature, but as I had never been in the outdoors, I was very uncomfortable of going the bush to relieve myself. I asked the cook Ranji to accompany me, and I still remember me being very embarrassed that I had to go out in the open where everyone can see me.  In the night we all gathered around the campfire, and Nirmal Sir, Rohan Uncle and the seniors shared with us their experiences and knowledge about the wild. I was allocated to a tent where all the juniors slept. It was very uncomfortable I remember, because it was raining and the tent was leaking from certain areas, and the heat was pretty unbearable.

In the morning we had a nasty surprise, someone had left some fried “papadam” underneath a jeep at night, and entire army of “kadiya’s” had invaded the campsite. There were literally millions of these soldier ants whose bite was very painful and they were all over the campsite and despite the efforts of using Kerosene oil, we were left with no choice but to move camp. 

The new campsite was called Pansadara, which was a much larger and we had more room to spread out our tents.  During the evening I witnessed my first herd of wild elephants.  I also recall an encounter with two big bulls that had a brief face off before engaging in a short duel. I noticed that many of the boys had cameras with them, and I was longing for one of my own, to capture all these memories. This yearning is what made me try my hand at photography many years later.

 The following days got me accustomed to the rhythm of the jungle life, I learnt many camp chores such as how to pitch a tent, how to clean vegetables for the kitchen, and how to light and clean a hurricane lantern. These and many more skills have helped me take on any problem and hardship in life. I will always remember this first venture into the jungles of Sri Lanka, as it not only gave me the first taste of the wilderness, but it made me who I am today.

My Experience with Leopards of Horton Plains

Horton Plains is a place which is close to my heart and arguably would be my favorite place in the world. The land of mist and rain, of rolling green hills and dark cold forests. This is one place which always held a mystery with it, and an emotion hard to describe. I have been travelling to this park since I was very young, and in-fact my family have taken me even as a 3 month old infant on the regular trails of this beautiful park. But very few have truly attempted to catch a glimpse of its unique wildlife up close and spend time focusing on finding the rare, elusive and endemic until recently. Few people are aware that the park has a thriving leopard population, as very few are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these elusive predators.

Hence determined to see one, myself and my friend Hamid made our way one March to spend 3 days in the park in the hopes of photographing a leopard. We had booked the Maha Eliya Bungalow which is located right in the heart of the plains and a good launching pad for our search.On the first night itself we had our first encounter, as Hamid went out to where he has parked his pick-up truck to charge his phone and suddenly noticed a large male leopard seated in front of the car watching him. When he turned his flashlight the leopard had disappeared into the darkness. Skeptical of this I went ahead on the path in front of the bungalow to check for tracks and noticed the pugmarks confirming the incident. The next day we were up early and set off on our drives along the park main road from the bungalow all the way to the Pattipola Entrance gate, and then back towards the Park Office and to the Ohiya Entrance Gate. This is known as the best stretch of road where leopards have been seen. The mornings were bitterly cold and very misty hence we found it tough to get a good view, but we heard a few alarm calls of Sambhur who are the leopards main prey but didn’t get any sightings.

That evening, we were driving around, and the weather was great with no mist and good light. We were driving towards the Park Office, and were observing how good the light was on the left side of our vehicle where there was a wide open valley, when something caught Hamid’s eye on the right. It was a leopard sitting by the roadside just watching us pass by. He hit the brakes pretty hard and I went flying forward as I was not wearing a belt at the time. In Hamid’s excitement he accidently pressed the horn while trying to take out his camera, and the shy cat walked into the bush. But it wasn’t particularly alarmed as it walked away calmly. We waited at that spot, scanning the area for a very long time, but to no avail, and hence turned back and was heading towards our bungalow when we heard some Sambhur alarm calls ahead, and when we drove to the spot we observed the directions the herd of Sambhur were looking at and out came this gigantic male leopard. It was easily the biggest leopard I had ever encountered, and the color was a beautiful golden yellow. The leopard was quite a distance away on an opposite hillock and was walking away from us. I managed to capture two blurry images of the cat as it moved out of sight. We were in disbelief, our first sightings of leopards in Horton Plains, and how magnificent they were.

The next day was uneventful, but on our last morning drive, while driving towards Arrenga Pool from the Maha Eliya side, there comes an opening where there is a valley on the right which extends all the way to the Thotupola Kanda forest tree line, and immediately as we reached there, Hamid with is amazing eye sight spotted a big leopard peeping from the forest edge, but took some time to maneuver his pick-up truck to the side of the road by which time the leopard once again slid back into the dark forest. We were kicking ourselves and thinking what an amazing shot it would have been, when the leopard once again came out, and this time I had made a fatal error in sitting on the passenger side on the left, hence I had to get down from the vehicle to get a clear shot. By the time I did that, I missed the shot again. Thankfully Hamid had taken a brilliant photograph of the large male leopard. I immediately went to the back seat where I can get a view of the right side window and waited. We knew the cat is in the bush and will most likely come out once again. We waited for over half an hour, and suddenly heard a belting of a Sambhur as a young deer leapt out of the bush followed by the leap of the leopard as it reached out to grab its prey. But missing its reach, it jumped back into the bush further away. This was some amazing action we were witnessing. Another several minutes later, we suddenly noticed the leopard has appeared in the open plains, hidden in the tall grass. We could barely make out the head as the sun was very bright and at that angle was proving quite difficult to photograph. After several minutes the shadowy shape disappeared from our sight once again. Despite not having any photographs of the sighting, I was exhilarated and in awe of what we had just witnessed. Especially because we have come to this park so many times throughout the years and had never ever thought we would witness something like this. I think in hindsight it is because we don’t look out for such things and the leopards in general are always around and if one with keen eyes does make the effort it would appear. It is up to the observer to make it so.

Notice the head of the leopard hiding in the grass

Following this trip, I made several visits subsequently, but with no luck, mainly due to the thick fog which makes sightings impossible. This was until a trip we made in 2018 when we stayed at the Wildlife Department Dormitory, a very basic establishment but also a good place to locate oneself strategically to try for leopard. The days went by, without any luck. But we did get a great sighting of an Eurasian Otter swimming quite freely in the Arrenga Pool. Our group consisted of my friend Hamid and his son Nasir, as well as my best friend Chathuranga fondly known as “Chatta”. On our last evening we drove towards the Maha Eliya plains, and noticed a car with some photographers were already waiting in anticipation of a sighting. This was the same area where we saw the big male leopard walking in my first encounter few years before. We decided to drive up ahead and turn the car around and come back, and when we did we were all focusing elsewhere when Chatta suddenly said “what is that” and pointed towards the grass. We saw then that it was a leopard peeping from the grass and looking straight at some Sambhur who hadn’t noticed it yet. Without a seconds thought, we began clicking our cameras as we knew the moment would last only a few seconds. As predicted the shy cat turned back and went into the deep forest. We were very lucky thanks to my friend Chatta in spotting this, as other car despite being in a similar viewing position didn’t notice it.

 Subsequent trips to this amazing place hasn’t proven lucky with regards to leopard sightings, but it is always an unbelievable experience to travel to Horton Plains and to spend time in this amazing mountain wilderness.

The Sad Story of Wasantha the Tusker

The Sad and tragic story of Wasantha, dates back to 2003. I was the president of the S.Thomas College wildlife society, this was the time of the peace talks between the government and the LTTE. Wilpattu had been closed for many years due to the war, and finally opened up in 2003 during these peace talks. The park was not what it is now, and there were very few animals to be seen, and the facilities of the park were yet to be re developed.

I went on a day trip recce to the park beforehand and was astounded by the beauty and scale of the park. But we hardly saw any wildlife, and any we did see were very shy.

The tour with the whole society combined occured during the August school holidays, and we were to camp in the now derelict Kokmotte bungalow.

After heading to the site, which is very far from the main office we set up operations and after lunch headed to the Moderagam Aru to cool off.

During which time, we got an urgent message from a park jeep which arrived that the park warden the late Mr Wasanth Pushpananda wanted to meet me and my master in charge Mr Nirmal Fernando to discuss some conservation projects we were hoping to do.

Knowing we will miss our first game drive myself and Nirmal Sir headed to the park office. We met Wasantha, who was a very impressive man, who seemed determined to bring the park back to its former glory. The next few days as well we saw him in the field with the laborers and workers developing the road and physically involved in operations which most senior officers in the department never do.  In the next few years he did tremendous work to bring up the park. Sadly he met his end when he was ambushed and killed by LTTE terrorists in 2007. He was a great loss to Wildlife conservation and the department.

Moving back to our story, after discussing some projects we headed back into the park and drove towards the campsite.


Reaching Percy Bendhi Wewa, we were astounded to come across a big elephant on the bund of the lake. Its head was in the bushes, but when it pulled out, we saw two gleaming shafts of ivory. It was a Tusker ! . He turned towards us, and raised its trunk feeling us out, and then slowly slid into the bushes and dissapeared from sight. I managed to get some photographs from my old film camera. And I treasured this moment ever since.

The years passed an I always wondered about this tusker whom I encountered so long ago, but did not get any positive update on him, until 2014, when a young boy from the village posted an image on facebook, hence I contacted him and he said he saw him in a chena deep in the village. I analyzed the photographs and compared with my old photos and realized this was truly the big tusker I had seen way back in 2003. It was 11 years from our first encounter, and it was heartening to know this tusker was still alive.

I made plans with him to head there one day and try and find him once again. We reached Wilpattu late at night as we left after office. Spending overnight at a village guest house we headed to the area hes known to be seen in the morning. Note even the village is a mix of forest, jungle, paddy cultivation and chena cultivation, hence its a scattered area with a mix of wilderness and human habitats. We looked everywhere by jeep and foot but couldnt locate any signs.

That evening we went to an abandoned chena cultivation , and waited until some village boys who were helping us went far into the bush looking for the tusker .We had stationed them in different areas to try and get a glimpse. Finally we go the call and we began to walk towards some harvested paddy fields. One of the village boys said hes on the way to this area and for us to remain out of sight as the tusker is very shy. It began to rain for a few minutes and we took shelter at a small coconut thatched hut which was abandoned. Waiting for over 30 -45 minutes we saw the head of the tusker as he came out into the open. He was the same beautiful bull I had see so long ago, and it was heartening to see him again. I noticed hes much older and abit worse for wear this time around plus I noticed his left eye didnt seem too good and we presume hes blind on that side.

He gently walked past us, and headed deeper into the bush. We were happy to see him alive after so long. Back home I decided to name him Wasantha in memory of the late park warden, and someone whose done so much for the park before his untimely demise.

Sadly few months later, we got news that a poacher was caught in Eluwankulam area with tusks similar to Wasantha's, and awhile later they found the location of the body. I was devastated to know of this , and heartbroken that such a peaceful animal met his demise at the hands of a greedy coward.

Unfortunately this is the sad fate of tuskers in this country. May his memory live on along with the legacy of the late Mr Wasantha Pushpananda.

The Mighty Sando

Sando , the name alone brings shivers to anyone who has encountered him. He is the most dominant and aggressive tusker in Yala National Park. So aggressive, hes single handedly responsible for ramming many safari jeeps and chasing down even more.

He is said to be responsible for brutally attacking other bull elephants including Gemunu the famous tusker of Yala.

He appears in Yala when hes in musth, which is a heightened state of aggression male elephants come to when their testosterone levels are elevated and is the time they are most aggressive and are seeking mates. During this time, bulls don’t think about food, and are always agitated and on the move looking for females in estrous or in season. Males in musth usually secrete a pungent oily substances from the sides of their cheeks and dribble urine constantly. Studies have shown that when bulls reach musth they are able to compete and dominate other males even those bigger than them to win a chance to mate.

Sando was named because, he had smashed an Irrigation Department double cab in a lake close to Yala Block III few years ago. And hes been visiting Yala Block I every time he comes into musth.

He was even sighted in Kumana where he had whacked a jeep two years ago. Hence his range is quite vast and you never know where he would turn up.

I have been wanting to see this giant tusker for quite some time. I remember heading to Yala in 2014 after hearing of his appearance. But not having any luck. The same happened in the following years, and I was thinking what bad luck I had given everyone else who headed to Yala had a close encounter with this giant.

Finally in 2019, we set off with hopes of finding him. On our first evening safari we saw him at quite a distance with some females, but could not get a clear shot. It was amazing to see so many vehicles lined up and watching him, knowing his fearsome reputation.

The next day morning we headed back in quite early, and entered from the Katagamuwa side, and while driving on towards the Yala junction we got news hes been spotted close to Komawewa on the main road. Heading to the location we just missed him as we saw his massive behind disappearing into the bush. We turned into Komawewa and took the road towards Suduwelimulla, when we came across him on the road, but walking extremely fast towards the bush. We could not get a good sight of him as he disappeared once again.

We turned onto the main road once again, and from the Diganwala area a jeep flashed their lights, and our drive excitedly sped on the road towards the jeep, not knowing what this guy was signaling about. To our shock Sando was on the move and about to cross the road from the start of Diganwala, which was blind to us on the left, and luckily passed him fast, as if we had stopped in front on him he would have surely rammed onto the jeep and toppled us.

He crossed the road and walked briskly to the other side. He was in a daze and was walking all over the place. We headed to Kota Siyambala area hoping to anticipate him appearing from that side , and waited for quite some time with no luck.

Thereafter we thought, maybe he has walked towards Medha Para and hence headed back towards that area. As soon as we turned to Medha Para, there he was, and was walking straight towards us. The driver froze, and we watched in awe at this colossus coming straight towards us. After a few seconds our driver decided its too close for comfort and began backing up and Sando kept on coming, until he decided to swerve to the right and go deep into the bush.

It was such an exciting sighting and we were left in awe at this majestic bull tusker. Seeing him finally was amazing and I have to say this is one of the most exciting moments I have had in Yala.

The Thrill of the Chase

Many a time, one would ask a wildlife enthusiast, “Why even bother to go again and again into the same parks and try and find the same animals over and over again?”

This is a question, which cannot be answered logically. The reason being that those with a genuine yearning for a wilds have several motivations all combined into one.

Firstly, it’s the exhilaration of being in the outdoors. Most of us are tied to desk jobs, where we spend hours upon hours in front of a computer or in back to back meetings, doing mundane and soul grabbing activities.

Some of us are in hollow relationships and have boring and sterile personal lives.

With all these factors taken into consideration, its no surprise to anyone when you find people retreating to the jungles and forests and national parks in order to obtain some form of solace and escape from their real life. This short and yet glorious pursuit not only refreshes the mind but also the soul.  Seeing the lush green forests, and breathing the fresh air, and the wind in your hair as you drive through the small jungle tracks, this all bring with it a sense of freedom which is very scarce for modern humans in this day and age.

The next factor is the personal interest in seeing the beauty, freedom and behavior of animals. This bring with it a sense of ease and calm to many. Ever questioned why most clinics have fish tanks. The observation of animals in their natural habitat brings with it a sense of deep calm and relaxation as well as immense pleasure.

Then the question would arise, “why not go to a zoo?”  The simple answer to this is the thrill of the chase. Haven’t you ever felt a loss of desire when given an unlimited and easy choice? I sure have. For example I personally sit and watch whatever program airs on television, while end up being confused and dissatisfied seeing the unlimited range of programs on offer on Netflix, another example is how happy and appreciative I am when our home front provides a meal of limited choices, but ends up savoring all its flavors and truly relishing the meal, whist having a sense of confusion on not knowing what to order from the unlimited range of food options on Uber eats. The human mind is a strange thing. We are never satisfied when things come easy, and when the choices are unlimited. Humans always value something hard earned and scarce. Hence this applied even to wildlife, where the thrill of the chase and effort taken to get a particular sighting adds to the thrill and joy of the sighting itself.

If one sees leopards ever 10-15 minutes as soon as you enter the park and is as common as seeing Spotted Deer. Would we be as thrilled as we are now, when we have to work very hard, spend many hours in wait, or spend a long time tracking the pug marks, looking at clues, listening to alarm calls and even then have the chance of coming back home empty handed? The reality is a definite no. Yes we would like to see and appreciate a sighting, even in a zoo, but it’s not the same as “working” for your sighting and the reward paying off.

The thrill of the chase is as or more important than the sighting itself. 

A Journey to Rhino Country

Imagine seeing an animal who almost looks like a prehistoric dinosaur, and too unreal to be a living breathing creature? This is what most people feel when they encounter a Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceroses. These legendary beasts are straight out of a story book, with skin looking like armor plating it was one of the most unusual and unique animals one could encounter. As its name suggests they are found in the Indian Sub-Continent, covering India, Nepal and Bhutan. They are larger than the African Black Rhino, but slightly smaller than the White Rhino, and as the name suggests have only one horn.

The species almost went extinct few decades ago as they were hunted for their horns as well as agricultural pests. At the start of the 20^th Century only around 200 animals remained, and their recovery was one of the greatest conservation success stories in Asia. Thanks to the hard work of Indian and Nepalese authorities they were brought back from the brink of extinction to over 3,500 animals today. Kaziranga National Park in North Eastern India is home to 2/3 of the entire population. The rangers of this park are legendary in their efforts to curb poaching and risk their own lives in protecting these prehistoric animals.

Kaziranga is known as the land of giants, a place time forgot. This is one of the few places in India where most of the big animals are found in one place, The Rhino, Elephant, Asiatic Buffalo and Tiger. In-fact Kaziranga is home to some of the last truly wild Asiatic Wild Water Buffalo. These giant bovines are truly wild and known as some of the most dangerous animals, with wide sweeping horns spreading 4-5 feet across. Also the park is known to have the highest concentration of Bengal Tigers in India. Besides the big species, this is also one of the best birding destinations in India, with some amazing diversity found here. The most charismatic of the birds would have to be the Great Hornbill.

I was yearning to go to the land of giants for a very long time and my dream became a reality in 2020 when I lead a group of clients on a tour to Kaziranga. The journey to Assam itself was very interesting. This is a part of India which is completely separate from the main landmass and closer to Bhutan and other parts of Asia. The people of Assam are some of the friendliest I have come across and their culture and even appearance is very different to the other parts of India. The climate is quite pleasant with an average temperature during daytime of 18C and mornings and nighttime being quite chilly.

Our journey began from Guwahati the capital of Assam, where we were met by Nekib our birding guide and naturalist, and the journey to Kaziranga was to take 5 hours. It was a long and tiring drive but it was interesting to note the sceneries and landscapes on the way. This was a very lush and green land with plenty of water and it clearly showed.

Our safaris were to commence the next day, and with great excitement we all headed out to our safari jeeps, in the chilling cold. It was less than 10C in the morning and the windchill when we are on the move didn’t help.

Cold mornings

 As soon as we entered the park, we came across a herd of Barsingha or Swamp Deer which are very rare and found only in a few parks in India. 

Our first drive brought me face to face with our first rhino which as sleeping by the roadside. What struck me was the sheer size of the animal. I was yearning to get a sighting of a rhino while it was up and moving about but the zone gave us sightings of these mighty animals from quite a distance hence it was difficult to observe up close their true form and further for some compelling photographs. The bird life of the park was amazing and in one safari we identified over 30 species with ease. The most common mammal seen was the Hog Deer, who are found everywhere. Strangely the park was devoid of Spotted Deer or Chital. 

Rufous Treepie

 Red Whiskered Bulbul

 Hog Deer

 Jungle Mynah

 Bar Headed Geese

While reaching mid-day at around 11.00 AM the sun was quite hot and were reaching the tail end of our safari. We were on a road where there was very tall grass which was taller than an elephant on both sides. The right side was endless grass for quite a distance and the left had a small waterbody behind the grass. Suddenly the driver said “Tiger, Tiger” and drove fast ahead. We didn’t see it but he said a tiger appeared from the grass on the left and on seeing us went back in. We drop up to the spot and waited. As soon as we stopped the tiger growled at us, I knew at once this is a serious warning and asked the driver to back up as far as we can. Knowing the movement of cats over the years gave me the experience to predict it will cross the road in front of us if we give it space and time. This is clearly a shy animal and didn’t like having people nearby. We waited for over half hour, during which time many jeeps passed us and moved ahead towards the park exit. We waited until the rest of our group arrived in three more jeeps. We told them the story, and after waiting fifteen more minutes we decided to move ahead. Unfortunately one of the drivers didn’t realize how close the tiger was to the road side and decided to stop right next to where the tiger is to try and have a peak. There were two of my lady clients in the jeep all by themselves. As soon as the jeep stopped the tiger let out a thundering roar and shook the grass it was hiding in. We all shouted at the driver to immediately move ahead. The clients were shaken but alright, and I urged we should move on as the animal is clearly agitated and unlike a lion, this is not an animal you want to have angry. It was a close shave given the ferocity of these mighty cats. 

The afternoon drive proved to be the best chance to see rhino upclose as this zone tends to have more water bodies favored by these behemoths by the roadside. As soon as we entered, we encountered a massive male who was feeding right next to our jeep. I finally had an opportunity to observe these almost mythical animals up close. The skin folds of these rhinos is a very unique species adaptation which is very similar to plated armour of knights of old. But in reality the skin is said to be quite sensitive.

After staring us down for a few minutes the massive animal decided he wanted to cross the road and came right at us. Our driver was a little slow to react, and we had to urge him to reverse back before the rhino charged. We went back at the nick of time as we figured the rhinos have right of way. Crossing in front of us gave me the chance to truly admire the size of these tank like animals up close. I was in awe of this sight, and felt like I was taken back to the prehistoric times when mighty beasts like these roamed across the planet.

We continued on our way and few meters later an open area came up with two large water bodies on each side along with meadows, which had more than 6-7 rhinos grazing, and wallowing in the water. This truly was the land of the rhino and we realized what an amazing conservation success story this was given that rhinos are critically endangered and scarce in all other parts of the world.

 A Cinnamon Bittern

Our group consisted of 4 jeeps and whilst the rest moved ahead, I decided to wait and observe the behaviors of these mighty animals. This proved to be the best decision as we caught some amazing action, when we heard a loud raucous in the tall grass on our right. Our driver mentioned this as the sound of two rhinos fighting.  After a few seconds we saw two rhinos, coming out and one being chased across the road by the other. I noticed the one being chased was smaller and had a smaller horn, and I presume was a female and the other a very large individual with a more prominent horn which should be a male. What would have ensued is the male would have gone after the female in the hopes of courting or mating but the female had a calf and was reluctant to submit, hence the persistent male chased the female across the road.

After a few minutes of staring at each other the female showed signs of wanting to cross back to the other side, and began a short strut, which urged the now retreating male to turn back and trot towards the road. After a brief stare-down both animals crossed the road once again to our right, and continued staring at each other, both with heads held high. Suddenly the female started making a loud noise and both lowered their heads and crashed forward. For a few seconds both giant animals were tussling and pushing each other with their heads and the male decided hes had enough and turned tail and began running, with the female chasing behind with mouth wide open trying to bite. She caught up and gave one quick bite to his rump which had him feeling across the meadow. It all ended in a matter of seconds and the female joined her semi adult calf, and the defeated male quietly entered the water and began a sorrowful walk to the center to eat some water plants. I was very happy with my decision to wait back and observe these animals rather than driving around as this proved the most eventful sighting from our entire group that day.

The next few days brought us many sightings of these mighty animals who are seen in abundance in this park, with few interesting sightings such as road crossings, and a sighting of a female with a young calf. It is heartening to see a species which almost a century ago was in the brink of extinction, thriving in this habitat. 

Other eventful sightings included some amazing bird sightings. of which the highlight was the sighting of the legendary Great Hornbill and the Blue Bearded Bee Eater. 

I wanted to get a close up of a large Wild Buffalo Bull but it took me until the last safari to get this chance, when we noticed a large bull walking towards the road , and we waited patiently to get the chance to try a close up. Our patience paid of finally with the massive bull with large sweeping horns coming right up to us. 

My overall respect and admiration for the brave forest officers and rangers who made this success possible has no bounds and it was heartening to know that for 2019 it was recorded that not a single rhino was poached which shows that strong enforcement and dedicated conservation work pays off.

The Land of Giants, Kaziranga was a place which brought some amazing encounters for me, from frolicking rhinos, to close encounters with giant water buffaloes and a narrow shave with a tiger, and all topped with over 120 species of birds, made this place truly special.

 Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

  Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

  Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

  Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

  Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

  Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

 Photo Credit- Dianthi Wijeratne

On our way back, we had another unique wildlife experience in store. We stopped by at the massive Brahmaputra river where we hopped on a boat to go on a search for the truly rare Gangetic River Dolphin. The water of the river wasnt the cleanest, and I had to work on a special maneuver to get on the boat without getting my feet wet as I had a wound on one of them. The boats were very basic, and operated manually with a primitive engine. Heading to the main bridge/flyover, we noticed two dolphins right under the bridge. Waiting in one spot we got several glimpses of these graceful mammals coming out of the water. Unfortunately they were so fast we could hardly get a photograph. But it was heartening to see such a rare sight, and felt privileged to have seen Rhinos and Dolphins in one tour. 

 Osprey

Osprey

The journey back was sad as we had such a great time. and this was an amazing adventure in a little known part of India, the magnificent North East.