5th March - Kumana National Par, Sri Lanka - Part Two

With just one car in front of us we were able to position ourselves to get excellent views of the Sri Lankan Leopard.  The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka.  Since 2020, the Sri Lankan leopard has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the population is estimated at less than 800 mature individuals, and is probably declining. 

If this had been Yala there would have been a scramble and fight, with exhaust fumes and constant chatter.  Here though it was calm and quiet.  We settled in and I waited for positions to change.  The Leopard seemed quite relaxed.

We were told that this was probably a young female.  The Sri Lankan leopard has possibly evolved to become a rather large leopard subspecies, because it is the apex predator in the country.

From the tree the leopard would have views of the Water Buffalo and the car below, maybe this is what caught her attention.

She then stood up and turned around, laying along another bough facing away from us.  Fortunately this did not last too long and she moved to another branch and we were able to move to get a really good view.

The back, hind leg hanging down with the tail.

Snoozing!

Alert!

And watching something, it wasn't clear what.

When she settled down once again I was distracted, a Sri Lankan Wood Shrike.

And up ahead of us a Changeable Hawk Eagle.

The Sri Lankan leopard is a solitary hunter, with the exception of females with young. Male's ranges typically overlap the smaller ranges of several females, as well as portions of the ranges of neighbouring males, although exclusive core areas are apparent. They are more active and prefer hunting at night, but are also somewhat active during dawn, dusk, and daytime hours. They do not usually store their kills in trees, perhaps because similarly-sized or larger carnivores are absent in Sri Lanka.

Alert once again.

An experiment with black and white.

Then some new activity, a yawn and we get to see the teeth.

The survival of the Sri Lankan leopard is primarily threatened by increasing habitat loss and fragmentation, together with an increasing risk of human-induced mortality. Leopards are killed by people either accidentally in wire snares set for other species, or as retaliation after livestock depredation (usually through poisoning the livestock carcass). They are also occasionally shot. Since 2010, over 90 leopards are known to have been killed by people in Sri Lanka.

More yawning.

And a stretch where the claws in the front paws are extended.

Some video.

Then she was up and moved towards the centre of the tree .

We waited and she appeared on the main trunk of the tree.

And jumped from the tree to the ground and started to walk away

More video as we followed

A quick drink and then it was as if it was following something.  The driver saw another Leopard

Again we followed.

Then it was off with a run and was last seen going into the scrub.

The driver seemed to feel it would re-appear, so we sat while the other cars pulled away.  There were a pair of Little Green Bee-eaters to keep us entertained.

But in the end we moved on as well.  An amazing experience and one that will not be forgotten for a long time.