Leopards of Wilpattu

25th March 2018 at 9.38am one Leopard at Down Hall Pitiya. N 08.46567, E 079.99095

We arrived at Down Hall Pitiya from Mana Wila and spotted the leopard walking in the direction of Illanda Motte. I managed to get a few images and realized that this is “Eye One”, the female leopard that had eluded me for 6 years. I was thrilled with this long awaited sighting. She walked through the jungle and moved on to the road at the sand patch. On two occasions she turned back to have a look at the vehicle permitting me to get some priced images.  We followed her keeping a reasonable distance. As expected she walked up to Illanda Motte walked along the bund and drank at the water hole across the main water body. Thereafter she walked in to the forest beyond the water holes in the direction of Manikrala Uraniya. This is my first sighting of this leopard, which I have listed under Leopards of Wilpattu – Guest section by the name “Illanda Motte Leopard 1”. Considering the location of my first sighting I named her Down Hall Pitiya Female 1 (DHPF 1). As depicted by images taken in 2011 by Mr. Palitha Antony and Dr. Rishani Gunasighe the “cataract” in her right eye may be a birth defect, which persists to this day. In 2011 I estimated her age to be around 2 years. Thus I estimated her age to be 9 years now. (with guide Tissa Ratnayake)