"Yala" - A truely wild experience
22.07.2011
We arrived at the "Governors Camp Bungalow - Yala" on the eve of the 22nd of July. The drive from Colombo was an interesting one. The roadway was carpeted and had no difficulty of travel. We stopped at a few places which provided with some exceptional scenery. The bungalow was situated just outside the national park territory with only a 15min drive on a bumpy road to the entrance. It bordered a beautiful beach which was only a minutes walk away. The camp was of modest quality with friendly service which made us feel at home. It was a 10 bed dorm type bungalow with one double bed room. Even though electricity was not provided to the area the generator in the bungalow provided with the necessity. We helped our self to a delicious barbecue dinner and star gazed for a while. Other than an occasional tree snake, a slimy toad, a hare and a wild boar the bungalow hardly had any other wild entertainment!! :)
We arrived at the "Governors Camp Bungalow - Yala" on the eve of the 22nd of July. The drive from Colombo was an interesting one. The roadway was carpeted and had no difficulty of travel. We stopped at a few places which provided with some exceptional scenery. The bungalow was situated just outside the national park territory with only a 15min drive on a bumpy road to the entrance. It bordered a beautiful beach which was only a minutes walk away. The camp was of modest quality with friendly service which made us feel at home. It was a 10 bed dorm type bungalow with one double bed room. Even though electricity was not provided to the area the generator in the bungalow provided with the necessity. We helped our self to a delicious barbecue dinner and star gazed for a while. Other than an occasional tree snake, a slimy toad, a hare and a wild boar the bungalow hardly had any other wild entertainment!! :)
23.07.2011.....5.00am
We left the bungalow in hope for a great game trip. Out of all the National Parks in Sri Lanka, Yala was considered the prime, with a great diversity of wild life. The leopard and the sloth bear were the celebrities of the jungle but all visitors are not fortunate enough to see them. Our greatest hope was to catch sight of one of these majestic creatures during our game round.
Bindu was our one man tracker and driver. He owns a comfortable safari jeep and was perfect for photography as well. We left early since we were expecting the park to be busy with weekend visitors. As expected we had to wait in quite a long cue for entrance tickets.
The game trip has begun. The jungle pathways looked breath taking a midst the virgin sun of the day. We reached a junction where there was a few jeeps parked. They were pointing at a tree where there had been a leopard but was no more. We thought that was a bad omen, but we were yet to be proven wrong.
We came across many spotted dear, wild boar, ceylon peafowl and many other small animals. We had made one circle and we reached the same spot where the leopard had been before. It was an area called "Rukwila", and according to Bindu, there was a family of 4 leopards roaming this area. They were currently the celebrity family of the park. Suddenly Bindu stopped the jeep and switched off the engine. Apparently the "Langur Monkeys" on the surrounding trees were restless. That was an indication to where the leopards could be. The monkeys were one of their delicacies. |
We waited for about 5mins when suddenly Bindu pointed. Up on a tree, well camouflaged was a leopards tail. On close observation with my borrowed Canon 100-400mm L I realized it was pawing a dead carcass of a Langur monkey. It was such a joy to watch. My first leopard sighting and it was having its breakfast.
We waited for almost an hour till it finished its meal. Bindu told us that this was the mother of the 3 cubs and the latter should be around. The place was getting packed with jeeps and the mother leopard disappeared behind the shrubs after climbing down the tree. We took off and Bindu took us around the spot of land where the leopard was. Then he stopped the jeep again and waited....and waited....we had no clue as to what was going on. we were the only people on the road. Suddenly Bindu said "Look" and pointed to the back of the jeep.... There it was...right at the middle of the road. In all its majesty. The mother leopard crossing the road. Paused for a bit to turn around and continued its journey. My camera was clicking all the way. And then a minute later another...this time a sub-adult crossed the road and stopped at the other side waiting for the 3rd. She was at no hurry at all. The 3rd cub was a true beauty. She took all the time to cross the road. By this time the road was packed with vehicles surrounding the point where the cubs were crossing. It was quite a sight. Even though it was sad how commercialized the lived of these creatures have become, it was quite surprising that the visitors in almost 30 jeeps were not humming a word. They were all enjoying this show. |
That's when she did it. The third cub just sat right at the middle of the road and started inspecting her fans. It was such a nice scene. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had just developed another wild celebrity crush!!
Our hearts were pounding with joy after the luck we've had so far. We roamed the jungles highly satisfied. But the show had not ended. We had the opportunity to witness a wide array of wild life. The ponds were always a welcome attraction. The crocs, the painted stalk an occasional gray headed fish eagle were only a few of the fascinating creatures we came across.
24.07.2011
Another day at the game park. We had just had one of the luckiest days a first timer in the park could ever ask for so it was unfair of us to ask for more. But being human we wanted more. And more we got....
It was another busy day in the park. The passing jeeps reported of a male leopard sighting. On arrival it was like a carnival. Around 30 jeeps were stuck in traffic and was impatient to see the beast. It was fast asleep on a distant tree. It was frustrating for us since we were towards the end of the row of jeeps. There were 2 jeeps with mounted 800mm lenses and they showed no hurry to leave the sleeping beauty. We waited for a good 45mins only being able to see its tail. Finally our turn came and half the jeeps had left since the leopard was not showing signs of waking up. But again out of pure luck it suddenly got up and started stretching. We had the best view.
Then it happened. The king of the wild suddenly started to jump among the branches. It was sight of amazement. Since the light was dirrected straight at us I could only get a silhouette of the creature but it was more than I could ask for. Our luck was oozing. This was some of the best moments I've captured so far in my budding career.
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To capture a good photograph I believe you need several things. You need the photographer, the equipment, the subject, loads of patience and luck. This shot needed patience. And of course we were at a winning streak! The opening between the branches framed the scene very well.
The sun was at its brightest. The creatures of the wild were disappearing into the shades. The drought was setting its mark in the jungle. The animals were going through a very harsh period. We decided to stay close to the ponds where the only hope laid on seeing anything alive at noon on a very sunny day.
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The Elephants at Yala
The Sri Lankan elephant is a much seeked beast in the jungles of the island. We had our own share of the majestic creature sightings during our two visits to the park. It was always an interesting show to see a heard of elephants with their ever so playful young or to see the rare tusker with all its fury.
Well....that concludes our exciting trip to the wilderness of Yala National Park. For anyone who's planning to go there my word of advise is plan your trip. Have at least 2 game rounds. Book a bungalow way in advance. And have a good tracker. Try to know what your looking for and do a bit of reading before you get there. I wasn't always into wild life. Back then every bird was just a bird, every tree was just a tree and every animal was just an animal. But now things have changed....everything has a uniqueness....and everything is more interesting. Love and appreciate the rich wilderness of our country.
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