Informative and picturesque safari

A Moment in Nature – Yala to the Maasai Mara. By Athula Dissanayake Printed by Gunaratne Offset Ltd. Price: Rs. 2800

Moments in nature, like a dragonfly perched briefly atop a reed, a heron waiting patiently besides a jungle pool or a mighty elephant traversing the plains, are all moments that warmed the heart of the author in his journey through the wilderness. These are what he hopes through this book to share with others, who like him find solace in appreciating the beauty of the wild.

Dr. Athula Dissanayake, a consultant neurologist at the Karapitiya Hospital has been deeply interested in wildlife from the time he was a child. By the age of 18, he was contributing to journals like the Loris and so it should come as no surprise, that despite his busy professional calling, he has found time to produce this book.

Though possessing a wide knowledge of Sri Lanka’s fauna and flora, he has chosen to present in this book his collection of photographs. We have been fortunate in recent times to have fairly good selection of wildlife books but this one ‘A Moment in Nature- Yala to the Masaai Mara’ can lay claim to offering more, for while presenting images from Yala and other wildlife parks and wilderness areas beloved to people of this country, it also presents a portrait of wildlife in Kenya.Why Kenya one might ask? Simply because Dr. Dissanayake, having visited this most famous of African reserves, “the theatre of the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth today” was awed by its sheer scale and variety and felt that the Sri Lankan wildlife lover too should have an opportunity to enjoy it. The images of African wildlife are presented side by side with shots of our own, to enable the reader to make some connections, for as he points out, species such as the lion, rhino and the hippo had been present in Sri Lanka during the Pleistocene period, though now sadly extinct.

Though having started photography only a few years ago, Athula Dissanayake has a keen photographer’s eye for the rare moment.

Whilst focusing on the large animals, the elephants of Sri Lanka and Kenya, the lions, the leopards, the hippos, zebras and giraffes, not to mention, many, many birds, the book also presents the small and what many would consider insignificant.. ..dragonflies, butterflies, tree frogs and garden lizards, making it a comprehensive record.

Each photograph comes with an informative caption and information though brief that gives the reader a new insight….we learn for instance, how many species of butterflies there are in Sri Lanka and how many of them are endemic etc. The book also contains some rare photographs, such as the ones of a spur fowl’s nest found at the base of a kekuna tree in the forest in a small island at the Hiyare reservoir in Galle.

Another rare shot is of a long tailed nightjar sitting pretty on its nest on the forest floor, in the Kottawa forest in Galle. Though short, the captions to the pictures are very informative, communicating the author’s passion for his subject. Writing of Lake Nakuru in Kenya, known as the soda lake and famous for its flamingos, he says, “In the distance the shore of the lake is seen to shimmer with the pink colour of the flamingos. Its strongly alkaline water which one can really smell when driving around, makes it uninhabitable for fish. With their specially adapted bills the lesser flamingos filter out and feed on the blue-green algae growing on the surface of the water.”

Well presented and designed, this coffee table book of 132 pages with over 124 full colour photographs will interest not only adults but also children. One is certain the author’s hope that “these images will inspire a younger generation to take up the fascinating pastime of observing and enjoying wildlife” will be fulfilled.