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On the trail of the leopard
By Sanath Weerasuriya
Panthera Pardus Kotiya, more popularly known as 'Diviya' in Sri Lanka is the main predator in our jungles. An endemic and endangered sub-species, the Sri Lankan leopard has existed for thousands of years in isolation in an environment where it is the sole large predatory carnivore.

Yala National Park Block-1 in the southern range has become the most popular place for leopard watching in Sri Lanka, though sightings of the big cat have been reported in Wilpattu, Uda Walawe and Minneriya and Nuwara Eliya too.

It is the rapidly increasing human population moving more and more into prime leopard habitat that is causing the conflict between man and leopard. The major evidence of this 'human - leopard conflict' in recent times came from Nuwara Eliya and the Hantane area in Kandy, where leopards started attacking dogs.

Kotabendi Wewa, Thalgasmankada, Gonagala, Warahana, Kotigala and Gonalahebba are some of the popular areas in Yala Block 1 to see leopards. On occasions, I have been lucky enough to see leopards on just one drive while on others even after five or six drives we return to Colombo without a single sighting. That was what happened when I went down to Yala with Gihan de Silva Wijeyeratne of Jetwing a few weeks ago.

After five drives I lost interest in the leopard chase. We saw elephants, one of which was in a bit of a wild mood. But more significantly we saw 13 jackals, wild boar and a grand python sun bathing.

We also observed seven to eight Brown-throated Spine tails hawking for insects over Kota Bendi Wewa. We had the opportunity of viewing them at close quarters for about 15 minutes. We had two sightings of the Sirkeer Malkoha on the main road as well as on the Thalgasmankada Road.

The popular leopard areas in Yala were empty, probably due to heavy showers in Yala during April and May. Research on leopard behaviour is being done by many people and among them is a husband and wife team, Andrew Kittle and Anjali Watson who have been working on a leopard project for the Wildlife Department.

The Jetwing Research Initiative is a path-breaking partnership in Sri Lanka between the private sector and the research and conservation community. Under it, the Jetwing companies undertake to support research and conservation projects, primarily by providing expert assistance and food and accommodation at their hotels.

"A study on leopards, was one of the first projects to be supported under the Jetwing Research Initiative. A team of three researchers were based at the Yala Safari Game Lodge for over a year," said Gihan de Silva Wijeyeratne, CEO of Jetwing Eco.

Among them was Ravi Samarasinha, a medical doctor who had given up medicine to pursue his passion for wildlife. Together with Jehan Kumara he had been studying leopards for over six years, photographing the animals to study variations in their facial patterns.The work by Ravi Samarasinha and Jehan Kumara, has apparently shown that Yala National Park may have one of the highest concentrations of leopards in the world.

Though protected by the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, leopards are under threat as poaching outside the protected areas continues unabated. At least three skins were confiscated from poachers last year and this year too, police have confiscated some.

'The leopard is the main animal in the food chain or the nature chain, where it keeps the balance and occupies the top spot. I think the leopard should be the 'flagship animal of Sri Lanka'. If we protect the leopard we will be protecting all the species down the line," says Gihan.

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