More Leopards - Sri Lanka

Leopard - Yala, Sri Lanka

I've still got a number of photographs of Leopard taken in Sri Lanka which I have not had a chance to share until now. The photograph above was our ninth and last sighting of a Leopard in Yala. We saw it on the further side of an open plain near the entrance to the park. We watched it for about ten or fifteen minutes while it walked over, crossed the road and disappeared into the undergrowth.

More photographs inside.

Leopard - Yala, Sri Lanka

Unfortunately when we came across this Leopard it was late in the evening and the light wasn't great. I had to push up the ISO to around 640 for this one but in hindsight I should have pushed it up further. Although this would have added to the "noise" I would have been able to use a faster shutter speed.

Leopard Cub - Yala, Sri Lanka

The photograph was taken during the sighting at Karaw Gas Wala. The cub seemed a bit reluctant to cross the road with a couple of jeeps being parked nearby. However, it did work up the courage to cross the road and I was able to take a number of photographs of it in the open.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

This was the first Leopard we saw when we drove into the Wilpattu National Park. It was only about 5 minutes away from the main gate in an area which "didn't have too many animals". It was a good start to a three hour drive in the park.

All these photographs were taken with the 100-400mm lens and the Canon 7D. The ISO had to be pushed up to around 400 or more as the light wasn't the best.

Leopards - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

On our last trip to Sri Lanka we were able to visit Wipattu while we were staying in Anuradhapura. Due to time constraints we were able to do just one drive in the park. However, we were quite lucky as we atually managed to see 3 Leopards in the park.

More photographs after the jump.

 Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The first sighting was just five minutes after we entered the park. We had just picked up the tracker from the office and headed into the park when we saw the first Leopard just off the road. We had actually driven past him before we realised and had to reverse back to where he was. He wasn't too bothered with us and was happy to sit in the shade and be photographed. We had been there for about five minutes when a tractor approached and spooked the Leopard.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The second sighting was a mother and a cub who were playing on the road when we saw them. Unfortunately they were some distance away and we had to be cautious when we approached. Our driver wasn't very experienced and he stopped a relatively long way from the Leopards making photography almost impossible. By the time we were close enough to the Leopards to photograph them, the cub had moved away.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

A few minutes later the mother moved off to the right hand side of the road. The cub saw her move and followed her. It was still in a playful mood and I was fortunate to photograph it running across the road and jumping on its mothers back. The two moved into the undergrowth and were there for sometime before they disappeared into the jungle.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The photograph above is of the mother when she was about 10 meters away.

All the photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

The Leopards at Wel Mal Kema - Yala, Sri Lanka

Leopard at Wel Mal Kema - Yala, Sri Lanka

Wel Mal Kema is a rocky area within block 1 of the Yala national park. There are a couple of water holes amongst the rocks and apart from the rock itself, there aren't any open areas. The road actually runs up the rock and relatively close to one of the water holes. The area is known for Leopard and Bear.  It's not the easiest road to drive along.

More photographs inside.

Leopard at Wel Mal Kema - Yala, Sri Lanka

On our first drive through Wel Mal Kema we found fresh Leopard tracks along one side of the road. We knew the Leopard was close by but visibility wasn't the best due to the thick jungle on either side of the road. Our best chance of seeing the Leopard was if it was on the road.  Fortunately for us it was. We saw it from about 25 meters away as it peered around a rock to watch us. The engine was promptly tuned off and we waited hoping to get a better view.

Leopard at Wel Mal Kema - Yala, Sri Lanka

After a few minutes the Leopard crossed the road and climbed up on the rocks to our right. Unfortunately for us another jeep pulled up at that moment and the inexperienced driver (there are a lot of them around Yala) didn't turn off his engine and the Leopard got spooked and left.

Leopard at Wel Mal Kema - Yala, Sri Lanka

On another one of our trips we had a brief sighting of a Leopard as it walked away from the road. I did manager to get a couple of photographs of the Leopard as it walked away and scent marked a tree.

All the images on this post were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.