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Safari Shenanigans: Exploring the Wonders of Wilpattu National Park

The Cool Animal Blogger

I'd very easily write pages and pages about the incredible sights we saw in one huge never-ending journal, but as I've since returned to the UK (with much laundry awaiting), I'll have to keep it to a series of rolling blogs, to relive my experiences of our Sri Lankan adventures.


Safari boys

One moment during our travels that I want to relive, is our two-night stay in the serenity of Wilpattu. Wondering through the bush, stumbling into snakes and deer at night and finally, embarking upon some 5am Safari shenanigans, with an enthusiastic Naturalist named Tarker, who guided us through the brambly bumpy dirt roads of Wilpattu National Park.


This short but thrilling stay reignited my appreciation and respect for wildlife, Sri Lanka's diverse ecosystems and animal conservation. Catching sight of a Sri Lankan Sloth Bear in its natural habitat was a lifetime ambition of mine (did I mention we saw three adults and two cubs - an incredibly rare sight to behold!)


Here's my journal of the enigmatic creatures that we had the great fortune of seeing in the wild.



How did we get here?


After my partner Richard had promised his best friend, Tom that he'd finally venture out beyond Europe and into the tropical rainforest, our guy Tom had done his research (full credit to Tom for being our spirit guide through the whole trip), with one main motto when organising our travels, "go where the cool animals go".



biryani and richard

Setting us up for a night in the sticks, a short stop at Puttalam first, where we had the best Biryani of my life (and also my first ever biryani - why had I waited 25 years?).


Upon finally arriving at Big Game Safari Camp by the Eco Team, a friendly Sri Lankan gent named Roger greeted us and gave us the rules of the camping experience. No shoes in the tent and most importantly, no food in the tent - the animals will find a way in. A rule I was keen to abide by, knowing that we'd be sharing the campsite with the likes of Sri Lanka's most incredible predators.




The Bush Walk


Within an hour upon arrival, we geared up (safari hats and all) to see some cool animals on a walking tour of the surroundings. Venturing into the rice fields, where our Naturalist shared that elephants were strictly prohibited from the area (not that I had a bag big enough to sneak one in), to ensure the crop wasn't destroyed. In Sri Lanka, the elephant-human conflict is one of the major challenges the country faces. Small tree houses are built by the locals, for people to take refuge and ward of unwanted Asian elephants in the area.



Trekking through the thicket dirt roads, an abundance of garden lizards and palm squirrels (Photo by viswaprem anbarasapandian) explored the trees, with the reverberations of the cicadas and insects humming peacefully in unison. Although, Rich were screamed at on one occasion by one particular cicada - it sounded metallic and almost electrical against the other mini-beast symphonies.


Changing their colours to communicate with one another, the garden lizards transformed from red, to black to a mixture, basking on branches and trunks. Water buffalo drank from the small oasis near to the rice field, nonchalant to passers by. The long grass was swaying out of sync in the distance. We never did find out what animal was causing the movement - I kept imagining a jackal coming out of the distance or even a shy leopard brushing before saying hello. Of course, this would have scared the living day lights out of me but what an experience that would have been. And then, back to the campsite to see our nocturnal friends.


Many Lion Beers were drunk by the bonfire under an astrological night sky; spotting fruit bats that would swoop by before the pitch black night swallowed them up. A hearty meal in the outdoor restaurant was prepared, roasted over coconut shells, that didn't even touch the sides. It was a sleepless night in the tent - not because of the bed (which was incredibly comfortable) but because of the rainforest orchestra. It was hard to sleep with all of the animated nature surrounding us. I kept imagining a friendly leopard sniffing at our shoes, or a bear playfully exploring the poles of our tent, or a python slithering across our canvas roof. Whilst the thought of a Sri Lankan Sloth Bear sauntering around our campsite in the dead of night sounded terrifying, it also made me feel exhilarated to see the wildlife within Wilpattu on our 4am-start safari



Creatures of the Night!

Following the feast, we took a walk through the campsite to spot some cool creepy crawlies including delicate moths, the dreaded fire ants and sleepy snakes dangling from the trees. Our guide was hilarious with a slightly darker sense of humour (quite fitting for a spooky walk around the woods).



He told us about how if Sri Lankan children were naughty, they'd be tied to fire ant trees, to be taught a lesson. He mentioned the plant that could be used as poison, or as he called, the suicide plant.


Whilst we didn't see a loris until later on in our trip outside of Wilpattu, he showed us a lovely picture of one and even took us to see a baby mouse deer in the shrubs. The tiniest cutest animal of all (even more so than the blind snake). Before tucking into our tent, I spotted the 'blind snake', the smallest snake in the world. Mistaking it for an earth worm initially, Tom our Zoology pal identified it as a snake, by the way in moved. It's called a blind snake because of its incredibly tiny eyes. This was my favourite snake sighting, along with a confident black snake the group had spotted by the pond in the centre of the campsite.


Into the Jeep


Tarker met us at the crack of dawn, still dark and noisy with creatures of the forest. Jumping into our jeep, we had full view above the front of the car to get our cameras and binoculars at the ready.


The Sloth Bear

Now for the main attractions. We were only an hour into our safari before we saw Sid and his entourage, a family of Sloth Bear with two adults and two cubs - a perfect family photo. Whilst I wasn't able to get a photo myself (thanks Rich for the magnificent shot below!), being in pure awe to complete a bucket list ambition of mine so early into the trip, they were absolutely phenomenal. My mom has been to Canada five times and has never seen a bear. Across our safari, I saw one for each year that she'd been to Canada - I knew she'd hate me when I got back ;)

sri lanka sloth bear

They were simply spectacular, searching around for termites in the many mounds across the Wilpattu forests. It was truly a memory I'll never forget and would happily revisit every day. Perhaps one day I'll become a bear-specific naturalist, but for now, I'll live vicariously through Tarker.


sloth bear wilpattu


The Leopard King and Grassy Games

Deeper into the grove, we were able to witness five leopards at different locations throughout the journey, 3 adults and two cubs - again, a rare encounter to see so many in one safari. Two rosetted tails swung upwards out of the tall blades of grass where our two cubs played games, unaware of us spying them through our cameras.



My ultimate big cat experience had to be witnessing the walk of King Nerumar, the true ruler of the jungle. Bathing in the sand to remove parasites and basque in his royalty, Nerumar was majestic to say the least. We sat there watching him from a distance on one of the planes staring out into the distance, later walking proudly off back into the rainforest, not to forget the fabulous swish of his tail to wave us goodbye. Most leopards are incredibly shy, Tarker told us - but not Nerumar.


The Other Wonders of Wilpattu

During our day, we were able to spot an array of tropical birds like the ominous Serpent Eagle and the Sea Eagle sitting closely to us on the branches of the trees above our jeep. The Serpent Eagle had a wingspan of around 36-7 inches, swooping through the trees and the open planes. Not to forget the handsome Sri Lankan Grey Hornbills, the Ceylon Kingfishers, the Green Bee Eaters, the Paradise Flycatcher (sitting right outside of our tent) and the fruit bats hanging from the trees, waiting for the moon to come out. Not to forget the many monkeys - macaques and langurs were a regular encounter across all of Sri Lanka.



Before seeing our leopard cubs, I borrowed Tarker's binoculars and spotted two jackals in the distance near to a group of water buffalo. Supposedly, Jackals are disliked in the local communities and are often killed because they go after young children and have even infected people in Sri Lanka with rabies. There are still laws in place to prevent killing jackals, however, their population has dwindled due to the backlash. I loved seeing the pair of jackals scurry across the waterline - it was a find I wasn't expecting to stumble across with Tarker's binoculars.






On our travels we saw heaps of barking deer, Nerumar's favourite snack, along with wild boar and the infamous Mugger Crocodiles. These guys were huge - we were even lucky enough to see one up close in the Ancient City of Anuradhapura in a lake near to the temples. The locals helped us to spot it along with a cute water monitor, chilling by the side of the water.


barking deer



The Surprise Sightings

To make Wilpattu even more of a unforgettable experience, we were able to see some of the inhabitants of the rainforest privately, away from the other safari jeeps - although Wilpattu is definitely one of the lesser crowded safaris to go on if you are planning a trip into the wild. Excluding monkeys!





On our way back, we were driving through the forest and noticed a large shadow on the dirt road right in front of our jeep. A complete surprise and the adrenaline was at an all time high for me in this particular moment. A shy leopard sat sprawled across the floor had spotted us and leap for the forest. Within a matter of seconds, she was perfectly camouflaged with the dense trees of the jungle.

camouflage leopard

I never would have thought leopard print would camouflage quite so perfectly. A thought crossed my mind during the trip - if we broke down and had to spot these animals before they reached us, we'd have no hope.


They were perfectly adapted to their environment, from their prints to their hunting habits. It made me realise what powerful hunters leopards could be. However, it's important to note that leopard attacks are near non-existent in Sri Lanka because they're just too darn shy! You could see how excited our naturalist was - his passion for wildlife encounters was truly contagious.


On a more lethal note, we did spot a surprise animal that wouldn't be quite as shy if we weren't as protected by the jeep. On our way out, we saw a single adult Sloth Bear lumbering through the grass in an open area, where we had perfect view. The adrenaline kept growing and growing throughout the trip up until this moment, where I felt purely astonished to see this friend-shaped creature metres in front of our jeep. We watched for a while that felt too short before he stumbled away into the cover of the forest. These mammals are incredibly territorial and have been known to charge, although we were pleased to see this big boy and kept a safe distance to respect the magnificence of the Sri Lankan Slothy. The boys took some very derpy photos of me witnessing this majestic sloth man.


The Asian Elephants

Wilpattu isn't usually the place to spot elephants - the main location would be Sigiriya, however we were lucky enough to see a whole herd of these unearthly giants in a field towards the less dense areas of the National Park. I remember saying to my boyfriend Richard, they don't look quite real do they? The first time we saw an Asian Elephant (or any elephant kind for us), I thought how it felt just like watching a nature documentary and how they really lived up to that perfect vision.



After spending hours with our big eared buds, we drove at speed through the rainforest, not expecting to see anything else. We were all awed out. We were looking forward to sleeping to the sounds of the rainforest after a very long day of spectacular sightings. Just when we thought it was over and we were miles from the last elephant sighting, out of nowhere, I saw them in the trees and yelled "elephants!" at the group. They were nestled between the trees, a whole load of them - it could have been more than what I thought I saw because the trees were so tightly packed.


(The elephants pictured below are from a combination of Wilpattu National Park and Minneriya National Park).




We halted. We'd alerted the elephants with the abrupt stop and we were just metres from them, directly opposite them. Tarker told the driver to keep the engine running and we stopped to take a look. Within seconds, we could hear the trumpeting - a sound I understand why people fear. We could see the trees moving and I could feel the ground vibrating and we knew that the sound meant, move or we'll charge. In response, we pelted at full speed and moved towards the end of the safari, only to be stopped on the path with a sounder of wild boar running across the road. I'm glad it was boar that blocked that road as opposed to the giant Asian Elephants we'd encountered earlier, or else we'd have been stuck in the National Park overnight.


elephant playing games

Where to next?

As we left, we decided that more elephants were on the cards and decided that Minneriya was next on the list. Stay tuned in my next Wildlife Journal to see how that turned out.


If you liked my blog, there's even more photos available on my Photo Journal.


"The safari never stops!"


Love, Nat X


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