I got to know of three small owls being seen in one of our offices every day on a tree. I immediately made arrangements to go there, but it never materialized as I was busy with different other excursions as well as a hectic work schedule. After a few weeks I got news that they were not seen again.Having taken ...
Yala or Ruhunu National Park is the most famous Safari destination in Sri Lanka. The park was out of bounds for a few years due to a terrorist attack in 1996, therefore even after Yala was re opened to the public the school did not want take any risks by taking young school children into a place with another possible ...
When I think if Wilpattu or “Willey” for short, I always think if the white sands along the banks of the villus and the roads, and imagine a leopard sitting in these white sands reminiscent of the wild photographs taken by one the pioneers of wildlife photography in Sri Lanka Mr. Nihal Fernando.It has always been my dream to photograph ...
The dry season is my favorite time of year. Its the time for the great elephant gatherings. Every year, hundreds of elephants congregate in ancient man made tanks whose banks sprout green grass with the receding waters. These succulent vegetation attracts pachyderms from around the countryside. As planned I headed out to Galgamuwa first with my friends Niroshan, Riaz and ...
The land of lakes is an ancient land with a rich history. I have heard so much about this park from my parents, as well as many older folk who talk of Wilpattu as the greatest national park in the country. As many would have remembered the park was world famous for its leopards, and a sighting was almost guaranteed ...
My story with Gajaba the mighty tusker found in the North Central region of the country , starts over 5 years ago, with a random video clip seen on facebook of this gigantic specimen of an elephant patrolling a lake bed along with a herd of elephants. The bull was significantly taller than all the elephants around, and I was ...
It was 2003, when I was the President of the S.Thomas College, Wildlife Society. Wilpattu National Park had opened after many years. We were some of the first people to venture into this park which was closed for the public for so long due to the war. We were given permission to camp on the bungalow premises of Kokmotte. With ...
A memorable sighting occurred when we stopped for lunch at the Kokmotte campsite in Wilpattu. While having our meal we heard a very unusual squealing sound. It was a very eerie sound which resembled a baby's cry. For a while we could not located where the sound was coming from, but after a few minutes of looking around we realized ...
After an absence from the wilds of over one month, I finally had enough of boring weekends spent in Colombo. Enough was enough, and I made plans to go somewhere during the vesak long weekend. I called my friends Riaz and Erich, who agreed with me to go someplace different. As we have been going to the dry zone several ...
The friends I made while I was president of the Wildlife Society at college are like no other. My team of officers Gihan, Sisira, Tinesh, Romesh, Jehan and Kumudh are still my best friends. Unfortunately most of them are stationed overseas, and thus when one comes down to Sri Lanka it is imperative that I organize a wildlife trip. Gihan ...
Its post Christmas 2012, and the world didn't end like some expected. What better to do with the holiday season than to go on safari. The weekend of 29th- 30th I scheduled a quick trip to Yala National Park. I have hardly gone to the park in 2012, and felt that it was high time I paid a visit, primarily ...
The mighty tusker Walagamba named after the great king is the largest tusker/elephant I have ever encountered. It is difficult to explain how immense this elephant truly is unless he stands next to another of its own kind. He towers above the females like a colossus and my estimation is that he is at least 10.5-11 feet at the shoulder.The ...
Christmas was finally here and the usual celebrations began. The 25th consisted of our usual family lunch where we gorge on my mothers amazing food and question why we ate so much by eavening.I was given a full week of holidays by my office during this week. Despite this long holiday period, other than the 25th I ended up working ...
My love and passion for the wild tuskers of our land runs deep within my veins. Seeing a tusker in the wild is a sight to behold, when he steps out of the forest canopy and into the sunlight, he strides along the plains like a colossus showing absolute confidence and dominance over all before him. The female elephants rumble ...
There are many people nowadays who are into wildlife and photographing wildlife. It is good to see more and more people coming to appreciate the beauty of mother nature. When I was a kid only myself and a handful were really interested about this. I would encourage everyone to observe, travel and appreciate what mother nature has given us in ...
Its been quite awhile since I posted a trip report. Most of my posts have been articles written for magazines and newspapers. I have been wanting to see Loris for quite some time, and the best known place is at Vil Uyana in Sigiriya. This luxurious hotel plays host to a well organized loris watching tour. The subspecies seen in ...
One tusk John as his name suggests is a single tusker seen mostly in Minneirya National Park. During the Poson Poya weekend of 2010 I set off on a quest to find the legendary one tusked elephant. My friend and jeep driver Sumedha described this elephant as being a big matured bull. We looked everywhere and covered all corners of ...
I was on a family trip to Riverston in the Matale District during a long weekend in October. We stayed at a lovely plantation bungalow named Sir Johns Bungalow. During the second day we decided to take a drive down to Illukkumbura. The Riverston area is rich in biodiversity and are home to countless unique and endemic species.While driving down ...
I have been planning on doing a worshop for beginners on wildlife photography for some time, and finally I managed to do something about it. I planned for a program in August where I will take 4-5 persons out into the jungle and teach them how to effectively take wildlife photographs. I was very keen to pass my knowledge to ...
