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1st April 2026 at 3.20pm I arrived at Nelum Wila and was informed by a safari jeep driver that a Leopard had moved into a small patch of forest around 10.30am and they had waited until now and left since the cat did not move out.
3.40pm I arrived at the spot and managed to spot the leopard with the help of my binoculars sleeping less than 20 feet from the road but well concealed by foliage. N 08.40732, E 079.98463
5.05pm the Leopard moved on to the road and walked towards the road to Panikkar Villu. The young male “marked” the bushes along the road.
I followed the leopard and managed to get a few images as he looked in my direction before disappearing into the forest. Later upon examining its spot pattern I was pleased to note that this is the male cub of the second litter of the famed Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 that I had named as Kuruttupandi Male 1 (KRPMC 1). This young male is 2 years and two months of age now.
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12th August 2025 at 9.45am two Leopards at Kuruttupandi Villu. N 08.43847, E 079.98241
The young male leopard was lying down under the shade of a small tree across the villu. It was difficult to spot the leopard with the naked without the aid of binoculars. He would occasionally raise his head to investigate any thing that distracts him or shift position to move from direct sunlight falling on him but go back to sleep. Upon examination of the spot pattern, I noted that this is Kuruttupandi Male 1 (KRPMC 1), one of the second litter cubs of Manikrala Uraniya Female 1. He is around one year and six months of age now and is often seen together with its female sibling. Leopard cubs stay in the company of their mother for about two years. Despite having got a few images I was keen to remain at this location due to the possibility of seeing its sibling and the arrival of their mother. Thus, I parked at the edge of the area enabling other safari vehicles to move out once they have seen the leopard.
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11.25am another leopard was seen seated to the edge of the forest, remained seated for a few minutes and moved down to the edge of the water and started drinking. After drinking for about 5 minutes, she moved in the direction of the sleeping leopard but lied down briefly prior to moving into the forest. I checked her spot pattern and realized that this is Kuruttupandi Female 1 (KRPFC 1), the female sibling of the sleeping leopard.
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12.50pm sunlight started to fall on the sleeping KRPMC 1. He stood up, yawned and moved from where he was sleeping. I expected him to walk down to drink but he moved under another bush and lay down again.
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I stayed at this location until 3.30pm expecting further leopard activity but since there was none decided to leave.
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10th May 2025 at 4.17pm A young male leopard at Kuruttupandi Villu. N 08.43651, E 079.98228
Having photographed the female I drove back to check on the leopard that was sleeping on the Ficus tree. The jeep drivers informed me that it had descended from the tree and had walked into the thicket. I decided to drive down to the villu, expecting the leopard to break cover. After a few minutes a fine young male leopard moved out of the forest to lay down on a white sand patch. I had received images of this cub with its mother and its sibling that I just photographed. It was the male cub of the second litter of Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). Despite being of the same age (one year and 4 months) difference in size of the male was obvious. I was thrilled to have capture both these cubs that had eluded me from mid last year. As this is my first sighting of this cub, I named it Kuruttupandi Male 1 with the code KRPMC 1 for the purpose of my study.
