Leopards of Wilpattu

19th December 2021 at 4.30pm one leopard between Panikkar Villu and Nelum Wila. N 08.39967, E 079.97592

The adult male leopard and was walking in the direction of Nelum Wila. I followed him for a short distance. He marked the trees on either side and after about 5 minutes moved into the forest.  Having waited for a few minutes I drove up to the point where the cat walked off the road and saw him walking back in the direction of the road. I quickly drove ahead, turned the vehicle, keeping about 40 meters from a bend and waited, expecting the leopard to walk down the road. Few long minutes passed and there was no sign of the leopard. Then I heard the alarm call of an Indian Palm Squirrels and distress calls of White-browed Bulbuls beyond the bend. In a few seconds the leopard appeared on the road, and I managed to get some images as he walked in my direction. The leopard was quite bold and walked almost up to the vehicle and stop until I reversed to give it space to continue its walk. He walked up to the Nelum Wila sand patch and moved into the forest. It was Borupan Pitiya Male 1 (BPM 1). This leopard was first observed in November 2019 around Borupan Wila and by mid 2020 moved close to Nelum Wila. He has been in this area since then and appear to be expanding his territory in the direction of Panikkar Villu.

9th March 2020 at 9.40am one Leopard at Borupan pitiya. N 08.42391, E 080.02543

On my way from Maradanmaduwa many jeep drivers informed us that they had observed a male leopard at Borupan pitiya in the morning. Upon arriving at the location I was fortunate to spot the leopard among the dried grass (Boru Pan Eleocharis dulcis). After lying at the edge of the grass filed for a few minutes the young male leopard moved through the grass towards Borupan pitiya Wala. Perhaps he was keen to drink at the small pool. I signaled the others to wait until the leopard reached the pool. But unfortunately the guests in a few vehicles were impatient and reversed at great speed disturbing the leopard. Much to our dismay he stopped and started walking in the opposite direction. Thankfully the vehicles gave him space this time with the more experienced jeep drives stopping at a distance to allow adequate space for the animal to cross the road. After a bit of hesitation the leopard crossed the road that leads to Lunu Wewa and walked in to the forest in the direction of Vilanda Wala. Upon checking the spot pattern I was pleased to note that this is Borupan Pitiya Male 1 (BPM 1) that I photographed yesterday. ( with guide Tissa Ratnayake)

8th March 2020 at 12.41pm one Leopard at Borupan pitiya. N 08.42414, E 080.02631

We arrived at Borupan pitiya and my attention was immediately drawn at a female Indian Peafowl with three chicks in the open filed. Her neck feathers were puffed up and her agitated behavior indicated the presence of a predator. Our search was fruitful as we spotted a young male leopard at Borupan pitiya. It was a very brief sighting where we observed the leopard walking in to the jungle from a small patch of foliage. However upon examination of its spot pattern I was able to identify the leopard as the Borupan pitiya Leopard 2 that I had listed under Leopards of Wilpattu – Guest section. I was pleased that I finally managed to see this Leopard but wished I had a better sighting. As this is my first sighting of this animal I named it Borupan Pitiya Male 1 (BPM 1). Its estimated age is around 2 years and 4 months. ( with guide Tissa Ratnayake)