March Photo tour Udawalawe and Yala National Parks

 

March Photo tour Udawalawe and Yala National Parks

In this blog will not be discussing the 12 Leopard sightings we saw. For the leopard blog please visit

 Photographing Sri Lankan Leopard in Yala

We decided to head to Columbo with Sri Lankan Airlines from London Heathrow on the midday flight. The reason is that we would arrive at 4:30am and by the time we cleared customs we were on the 5 hour journey to Udawalawe for the afternoon drive.

Mad??? Possibly but I like to maximise my time on the ground.

Originally we were going to do a morning boat trip for Blue Whales but decided to cancel due to very few sightings the previous week and none the week we were there. Whales will be on another trip. So the revised week trip would be two half days in Udawalawe followed by 2 half and 3 full days in Yala.

 

Our two safaris in Udawalawe would bring numerous Elephant sightings and most importantly we found a new and un-named Tusker. He had been spotted the previous week but not photographed, so we had the privilege of being the first to record this stunning young Male Tusker and also the only jeep to be with him.

 

In Sri Lanka only males can get tusks and only about 2% of the population will have them. Meaning that there’s around 300 tuskers over the whole of the island. So when one is about it draws the crowds.

 

February/March time is a good time to spot them as the female herds are moving around and the males go into musth and also follow the herds.



Female

We saw various small herds and only a couple of young males. We also found a mother with her 3/4 month old and 2 year old calf. The young baby was very emaciated, a very sad sight to see. However our driver has been watching this young baby carefully over the last month, as he too was worried and the good news is that he has been putting weight on and is looking much healthier. When he was two months old they thought they would lose him. He was walking well and was very active So the future looks better for him.

Mother and calf

While on these runs we prioritised the search for Jungle cat. A nocturnal medium size cat that is hard to see. Our driver is fascinated by them and knows some great locations for them. Also Udawalawe is unique for these elusive cats, they come out in the day!!!!

Fresh Jungle Cat Paw Print

When our second drive came to an end we were unlucky and did not find any cats. Annoyingly the next morning he had fantastic views of one in the area we searched. That’s wildlife and the reasons we keep doing this.

After our morning drive we headed to Yala and our first drive in the park. The parks are linked by corridors and only 1 and a half hours apart. So we had time to check into our hotel and have a spot of lunch. Our hotel for the rest of the trip was very comfortable and the service was fantastic. The chef would prepare anything we would like to have, so we opted for the fantastic local cuisine. No western food apart from I had cravings for French fries, so he made me some while I relaxed before dinner one evening. They had a small amount of Sri Lankan spice making them that little bit more special.

Our hotel room - huge it was!!!

Our time at Yala was fantastic and we had amazing views and times with various elephants. We witnessed some stunning behaviour - I love photographing behaviour over an animal standing or resting.



To males showing same sex affection

We witnessed dust baths, mud baths, tree cleaning, swimming and lots of males in musth. When males are in musth they can be very aggressive and unpredictable. Here is another reason to have a good driver that understands this behaviour and put his jeep at distance and in a position that you are able to get your photos. Ours would not approach.



Mother showing calf how to dust bath



Male in musth biting tree after pushing it down

Two females and calf's mud scrapping 

There are rules about how close you can be, but it seems that the inexperienced drivers ignore this. Luckily the wardens patrol the park and rule breakers receive bans, from 1 week to a month and even lifetime bans are issued. Every day these are enforced. It is working and the drivers are improving. Also the owners of jeeps issue fines to the driver if they get a ban. The reason is that the jeep gets banned too!!!! The bans are publicly displayed in the office and entrance.

 

 

Huge Male in musth

Tusker coming out the forest

  

The wildlife in Yala is stunning. Over 200 species of bird, deer, boar, jackals, reptiles and Sloth Bear are abundant. We were lucky to see three of the very shy Bears and even more privileged to see the incredibly rare and shyer Mouse Deer/Chevrotains. However this small deer did not hang around and ran away straight away...still super pleased to have witnessed such a stunning animal.



Baby Land Monitor in a tree

Green Bee-eater

Serpent Eagle



Malabar pied hornbill



Sloth Bear



Monkeys are always fascinating. We saw both of species at Yala. The Gray Langur are plentiful and very easy to see, both in and outside the park. The Toque Macaque is endemic to the island and a little harder to find. They are fairly common and you should see them. To get them in the open is another story. They tend to stay in the trees. We were lucky to see a small group resting with a new-born and the appearance of a mongoose made things interesting. The mongoose was after the baby and failed to achieve his meal. The adults of the group saw the mongoose away but if he had got closer to the young one it would have been killed.

Gray Langur

Toque Macaque protecting young

Toque Macaque

Mongoose

An animal that will stop a jeep from a leopard sighting is the King or Stripped Mongoose. These are very rare and rarely seen in the day. As we headed to a sighting we spotted one in the undergrowth we stopped to get views of this stunning animal. He was on the move and quickly headed on his way, as did we.

King Mongoose

Sri Lanka has three types of Civet Cat. Palm, Ring-tail and the endemic Golden Civet. These are fully nocturnal and if you keep an eye on the road at night or early morning you may see a Palm or Ring-tail as you travel around. Golden are incredibly rare and only occur in some localities. We saw Ring-tail Civet and in the evening the roof of our room was the hunting ground for Palm Civet. Looking closely at night you may see Civets around the hotels.

Large male Water Buffalo

Sri Lankan Soft-shelled Turtle

Even though we were on an exclusive Leopard tour, you can see we saw and had the opportunity to photograph a variety of different species.

Not all the photos are here but it shows that you can prioritise Leopard and still see the wonders of 'Wild Sri Lanka'

Photographing Sri Lankan Leopard in Yala

Sri Lankan Leopard has been a dream for me and something I have tried and failed on 5 previous occasions.

Unknown - distant rock at Sunset - off park

Anyone, like I did, can go to Yala, hire a jeep and say I want to see leopard. The chances are good as there are around 50 individuals in the park. However there are sightings and there are photographic opportunities. They are not the same - as I will try and explain.

Firstly. 250 jeeps are allowed in the park per day from 6am till 12 and then from 2pm till 6pm. Most will be organised by tour operators from the hotels. They pick you up around 5-7am and then you head to the park to wait in the queue. However on a photo tour it’s different. You arrive as early as possible so you can be first in. We arrived and waited from 4:30am and even then we were second to forth in the queue. Which is fine as you will not have anything in front of you as head in the park. You can also catch up on some sleep or head to the cafe for a coffee which is open at this time.

5:30am 50 jeeps in line. We're second

Once the park is open most of the jeeps will drive in slowly and look for sightings for their quests. Most want to see everything, including leopard. We on the other hand.....are exclusively going for leopard. Which means we drive and head deep into the areas others don’t venture, so can’t be delayed by jeeps stopping to look at the numerous deer or boar. You will see many throughout the day so there is no need to stop now.

The key to good Leopard sightings is a driver and guide that have many years experience on where they are and the normal resting spots.

We spent two half days and 3 full days in the park and were lucky to have 12 sightings from 11 individuals. We did fail on day two to see any leopard.

All our days where spent looking for leopard but we saw and spent a lot of time with elephants, bears, deer, birds etc. Another blog will follow on these.

Our first afternoon we were lucky to find a sub-adult Male wandering through his territory and more lucky as by the time he left deep into the jungle only 3 other jeeps had arrived.

Male - YM17 - Lance

Day three we had 4 sightings in the park and one outside and here you will see the difference from photo sightings to normal sightings.

As normal we headed straight to the far end of the park and searched the normal locations for leopard but nothing was found. At 12pm we arrived to the safe zone in the park to have lunch. Here we have to stay for two hours as the park is shut. Most jeeps take their guests back to the hotels for lunch and then head back into the park in the afternoon. By being in the park for lunch you can get to locations before the crowds arrive back.

Most sightings are shared by drivers so within minutes the word gets round. So any sighting on the main routes will get large number of jeeps appearing. Sightings deep in the park or on roads that are difficult to access don’t get any or little numbers of jeeps arriving.

The following are sightings that most will see.


Unknown - walking through the undergrowth on main road
Numerous Jeeps turned up so we left  

Unknown - We found this Leopard just after lunch on main road
It stayed present all afternoon and caused chaos on main road 45 minute upwards delays. Lucky we were already on the park  

These are sightings that if you’re lucky you will get to see and if you have one of the good drivers that are known to only take photographers you may be given preference.

Female - YF2 Jennie

Female - YF 32 - Aria
We at times could see her body but I like this photo

Male - Unknown at this stage
Distant Crop

Now for the photographic sightings. These  were deep in the park or away from the normal routes. Little jeeps turned up if any. In a couple of cases only us and one other were there. By the time the word gets out the Leopards would be gone as it would take jeeps 30-45 minutes to arrive. Normal jeeps would not try and come.

Male - YM40 Caesar

We spent 45 minutes with him at various locations
Only 3 jeeps by the time he headed into the forest

Female YF 32 - Aria Looking at monkeys
When spotted distantly lots of jeeps present.
We waited hour or so and then got her coming out the undergrowth with few jeeps  

Male - YM17 - Lance

Male - YM32 Charlie
Injured from possibly a fight

Female YF 32 - Aria

My advice to anyone wanting to photograph Leopard is to have a great driver and go with a guide that has a proven track record with leopard. Also be prepared to head quickly from location to location in the search of these stunning cats and finally don’t be upset at the numerous other species you will go past that you will miss. Yes the driver will stop for the special rarer sightings, but not for the common as you will get these. If a bear is present then yes he will stop but if a nice Crested Eagle then only if you ask, but you will possibly miss the leopard. There are hundreds of Crested Eagle.

If you fancy joining me on a future tour please get in touch as I will be heading back twice a year on exclusive Leopard  and Elephant photo tours.

The Worlds Rarest Cat!!!!!

One of my most memorable wildlife sightings happened when I was 10, when I lived in Andalucía, South of Spain. 

We where heading home from Gibraltar and as was normal for me I would be staring out the car window spotting the local wildlife. Vultures and other Raptors fascinated me until the sight of black spotted, tan coloured cat the size of a dog ran along the side of the field and jumped up the rocks and out of sight. I instantly knew it was a Lynx but what I quickly learnt is this was the endemic and almost extinct Iberian Lynx. 

For the next 35 years I would be trying to see this elusive cat without much success. For decades their stronghold would be the National Park of Andujar and Doñana National Park and even here it would not bring any success. Mainly due to the fact that numbers hit lows of 100, but with conservation efforts to bring rabbit numbers back up (the main diet of the Lynx) and re-introduction into these areas and also into the Sierra Morena. Numbers have risen and around 400 animals roam here and parts of Portugal. With even a tracked animal being recorded in my birth province, Galicia in the north. 

For the past 5 years I have been visiting my good friend Agustín at Alpasin. 4 years ago and thanks to him I would see the reintroduction of a young female back to the wilds of the Sierra Morena. What a honor and what a buzz. However this did not produce the excitement I felt 31 years before.  

Female Iberian Lynx - Re-Introduction (Collar edited out)

With a week left till the Fat Man visits with presents for us all.....Erin and I would get up at 1:30am and leave for the airport to catch the first flight to Malaga. 12 hours later we would arrive tired and hungry in familiar lands, Adamuz in the heart of the Sierra Morena. A quick bocadillo de lomo and out to the hides, Agustín has been working on for the past few years. Sightings at these hides have been superb with at least 3 adults and a cub visiting. 

Tired but not sleepy we settled in for a long wait......or so we thought. 

Around two hours in and a stunning young adult female Iberian Lynx came out the undergrowth to the alarm calls of the various birds. 

Wild Female Iberian Lynx makes her first appearance 

She sniffed around to find the rabbit that was left hidden away for her. Didn't take her long to finish it off and then head back into the bushes. 

All the memories and excitement of 35 years ago came flooding back and I felt 10 years old again. 

A truly wild Iberian Lynx came within ten metres and she stared straight at me with a look I will never forget. 

Near 300 photos in low light and as my heart was still racing.....she returned and sat down for a drink in the pool before a quick groom and back to the wilds of this stunning area of Spain that is Called the Sierra Morena. 

No wonder I keep returning time after time!!!!! 

Thank you my good friend Agustín for giving me a fantastic early Christmas present.