Latest news with #leopards
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘My parents were crazy wildlife people': meet the safari guide helping tourists experience Sri Lanka's wild side
More than 2,000 years ago, a large Buddhist community settled in the Yala region of Sri Lanka at the island's southern tip. Temples were built, water holes dug and big areas of forest cleared for grazing, creating a huge monastic complex, parts of which survive today. Hundreds of years later, when the community went into decline, it left behind a landscape ideal for herbivores such as water buffalo and spotted deer. And where herbivores thrive, carnivores follow. Today Yala national park, Sri Lanka's first nature reserve, hosts one of the densest populations of leopards on Earth. At dawn and dusk, they stalk wild boar and sambar deer, before pouncing at a breakneck sprint. Living alongside them are countless insect and bird species, plus 43 other types of mammal from mighty elephants and buffalos to jackals, crocodiles and the endangered sloth bear. There's a home for them all in the reserve's vast and biodiverse landscape, stretching from coastal dunes to monsoon forest. In all, Yala covers 1,300 sq kms (500 sq miles) and areas are increasingly being opened to visitors. Hilton Yala Resort Travellers keen to explore this beautiful place will be hard pressed to find a more knowledgable and enthusiastic guide than Sajith Withanage, head ranger at Hilton Yala Resort, a hotel wonderfully sited at the edge of the national park with stunning views of the Indian Ocean. Withanage credits his parents with instilling his love of Yala. 'They were crazy wildlife people,' he recalls. As a baby, he would be driven to see the park's colony of Sri Lankan elephants in his family's Austin A30 car. It is perhaps not surprising that he chose to study natural sciences, and was then offered a job at Sri Lanka's Department of Wildlife Conservation. 'But my dad said: 'Sajith, if you join the department you'll be happy, but you'll never get close to the animals while you're holding a fancy camera.'' So he followed his heart and headed to game parks in Africa to train as a professional guide, honing his understanding of safety, ethics and tracking through the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa. The reserve is sited on lands originally settled by a Buddhist community, and is home to a wide range of wildlife Today he and his team take guests from Hilton Yala Resort on day or half-day safari adventures to explore different areas of Yala, often heading off the beaten track in search of wildlife. 'Hilton Yala Resort commits to an ethical kind of Sri Lankan safari,' says Withanage, rather than racing around to spot species, telephoto lens in hand. 'That's not a wildlife experience.' 'In Yala you see how nature is a symbiosis of different species, landscapes and trees,' says Withanage Yala is divided into blocks to make it easier to manage. 'Block one is geographically stunning because it's right next to the coastal belt,' says Withanage. 'We have open grasslands, bush, dunes, then brackish inlets, freshwater lakes, waterholes.' A Noah's Ark of wildlife treads the diverse topography here. The park's 300 resident elephants shoulder through the undergrowth. Each one consumes up to 150kg of plants a day – about twice the weight of an average human. Watch out for reptiles – there are nearly 50 species including the Sri Lankan flying snake, which can glide down from the treetops, making serpentine swishes in mid-air. They're non-venomous but can still cause an almighty shock. Withanage will often pause with his groups at lakes dug out more than 2,000 years ago for the Buddhist monks. Here, from the safety of their safari truck, guests may see mugger crocodiles, camouflaged in the shallows, waiting to ambush grey langur monkeys. Leopards too are known to stalk prey that have stopped to drink. 'Safari-chic' in the hotel's rooms At dawn or dusk, Withanage and his Hilton ranger colleagues take guests into block six, the park's most recently opened section. Monsoon rains and varied wetlands make it Grand Central Terminal for almost 200 species of bird. These include the long-tailed Sri Lanka sharma, endemic to the country and known for its loud and vibrant song. The largest bird is the spot-billed pelican, which belly flops in on wings up to 2.5 metres wide, then scoops up fish, frogs and crustaceans in an enormous pinkish bill. 'In Yala you see how nature is a symbiosis of different species, landscapes and trees,' says Withanage. From the resort, guests can visit ancient Buddhist temples and authentic local villages For even more wildlife, the resort runs tours to Bundala national park, a wetland an hour's drive away that is a bird watcher's paradise and important winter sanctuary for migratory birds. The Hilton Yala Resort itself promotes a nature-first philosophy so that it and its guests live in harmony with their surroundings. Wastewater is recycled into the bio-pond that hosts birds and reptiles. Soap is re-processed then gifted to local communities. The hotel restaurant, Lanthaaruma, prides itself on serving locally caught yellowfin tuna in a fairytale beach setting, illuminated by storm lamps and sunsets. The 42 guest rooms feature safari-chic decor including ceiling fans and contemporary wildlife art. Guests can write their own jungle book by logging species, such as the langurs swinging through arjuna trees. And when it's time to relax in the hotel's serene setting, there's a pool featuring tree-dotted mini islands. Withanage and his colleagues know exactly where to find local wildlife such as langur monkeys With sustainability at the resort's core, ayurvedic toiletries are sourced from Sri Lanka's leading herbal supplier and the spa uses natural oils in treatments such as abhyanga, a traditional rhythmic massage said to rub away stagnant energy. If you can be tempted away from safari-ing, there are many other ways to deepen your experience of this part of the world. 'The resort is like an activity hub with so much to do,' says Withanage, mentioning dune hikes, bush walks, stargazing and visits to ancient Buddhist temples and authentic local villages. And not forgetting the magical coral reef a little way off shore … the protected Great Basses Reef shelters a shipwreck dating back to the Mughal empire, from which silver rupees and brass cannons were recovered in the 1960s. The wreck is guarded by green turtles and surgeonfish, all in dive-friendly shallows. 'You get a little bit of history, a little bit of nature,' says Withanage. Just like in his beloved Yala national park. Discover Southeast Asia and Hilton Yala Resort today
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists capture astonishing first-of-its-kind footage from the point of view of wild leopards: 'An intimate glimpse'
Scientists have captured remarkable footage showing the world through the eyes of wild leopards, giving us an exciting new way to protect one of India's most misunderstood animals. The Wildlife Institute of India has successfully used camera collars on leopards for the first time in the country, in Maharashtra's Junnar region, News18 reported. The project offers a unique view into how leopards navigate their world, particularly in areas where they live close to humans. WII scientist Bilal Habib and his team collected three months of video footage that will help researchers understand leopard behavior in sugarcane fields, where the cats often hide. This technology is an advancement in wildlife research, evolving past traditional radio collars to see what the animals see. These camera collars can change how we manage human-wildlife conflicts in agricultural communities. For the people of Junnar, located about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the city of Pune, this research could help reduce dangerous encounters with leopards. Last year alone, seven people lost their lives in leopard incidents over just eight months. By understanding how leopards use the landscape, researchers can develop better safety measures for both the cats and local farmers. The video footage helps conservationists design more effective solutions like properly placed solar fencing, which protects families while allowing leopards to thrive in their natural habitat. "We have video footage that was recorded by the camera collar over a period of the last three months. We will analyze the data (that will be helpful to understand the behavior of leopards)," said Habib, who is leading the project. The team has been working in Junnar since 2019 and has identified 14 leopards in the area, with 13 receiving traditional radio collars and one getting the experimental camera collar. "For the first time in India, a camera collar has captured the world through the eyes of a wild leopard," Habib shared on social media, per News18. "This groundbreaking footage offers an intimate glimpse into the life and landscape of one of India's most elusive big cats — a remarkable step forward in blending science, technology, and conservation for deeper understanding and coexistence." Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Yes — always Yes — often Yes — sometimes No — never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Times
10-05-2025
- Times
This is the perfect country for your first (easy) family adventure
When the alarm rang at 4.45am I wasn't sure I wanted to go throughwith it. We were up at sparrow's (Sri Lanka junglefowl's?) fart for a morning safari in Yala, a 378 sq mile national park that is in parts tussocky, woody and lagoony, in the southeast of the south Asian nation. Leopards were on our mind. During the game drive we'd done the afternoon before we'd glimpsed the rear of one of the 350 or so that live in the area, but that blink-and-you'll-miss-it look had left quite a lot to the imagination. Yala was where I was spending the second part of a week-long family trip to Sri Lanka, which would take my husband, our five-year-old and me on an easy loop from Colombo to Yala, via tea plantations in the Kalutara Highlands southeast of the capital; the gorgeous south coast beaches; and the fortified city of Galle, founded by Portuguese colonists in the 16th century. This was a holiday that had been building for some time. Our son had finally started primary school, which had the twin advantages of the end of crucifying nursery fees and the appetite for a bit more soft adventure, the sort we enjoyed when child-free. Sri Lanka seemed to tick the boxes: not too gnarly, survivable jet lag (5.5 hours time difference) and varied enough to get a flavour of it in a short period of time. I tried not to think about how much easier a lovely Greek all-inclusive might be with a young child as I packed bug spray and anti-sickness tablets. There was proper coffee waiting outside our tent at Kulu Safaris — and hot chocolate for Samuel — which we sipped as dawn began to break and our synapses began to fire. By the time we arrived at the Galge gate at Yala's Block Five area, it was bright and warm, and I had adopted my best jolly mum voice to ramp up the enthusiasm for this wild scavenger hunt. Leopards, I trilled! Crocodiles! Painted storks! Yala, the second-largest national park in Sri Lanka, is made up of five separate 'blocks' — enclosed conservation areas so leopard numbers can be tracked. Block One has the highest number of leopards, but as a result is often unbearably busy in peak season. So Block Five it was. • Best hotels in Sri Lanka Four hours later, bouncing across mud tracks in the Jeep in moves that threatened my pelvic floor, we'd still not seen more than a leopard's flank dashing across the path. Some days are like that, sighed Praba Premasiri, our Tamil guide — which to me seemed like an important lesson in life, let alone in the art of safari. But we had gawped at an elephant sticking its trunk into another safari-goer's breakfast (there was some tutting from our vehicle about only eating outside the park), at hundreds of grey langur monkeys and a crocodile with its mouth wide open like it was smiling, so there was that. There were also hundreds of peacocks trying to seduce peahens, plus gazelles, and a fat mongoose scurrying up a tree, which appealed to my middle-aged tastes. Ooh, look, I said to my five-year-old, an eagle with something in his mouth! But he was asleep in the front seat. We'd have seen more in Africa, most likely. But there a family safari typically costs thousands more and involves a complicated mix of flights and transfers, plus privately I thought the shattering emptiness of the savannah is wasted on the young. To capture the attention span of a reception-aged kid and his knackered parents, Yala was pretty unbeatable as an entry-level wildlife experience. Back at base, a breakfast of Sri Lankan hoppers (pancakes), coconut sambol, honey and buffalo curd was waiting — thrillingly, 30 metres up in Kulu's treehouse, reached bya set of rickety wooden stairs. It overlooks a lagoon with scary-looking signs warning of crocodiles. Storks flew across the water, lily pads swayed and monkeys jostled for position in the rosewood trees, which only I noticed as the other two were playing Uno No Mercy and I Spy. • Read our full guide to Sri Lanka We'd spent the first two days in Sri Lanka acclimatising in the Kalutara Highlands, two hours (ish) outside Colombo, staying at Glenross Living, a 19th-century Scottish hillside mansion turned wellness hotel buried in a tropical tangle of tea, cinnamon and rubber plantations. This provided an education, the type my son thought he'd left behind for the spring term: we learnt that Sri Lanka is the world's fourth-largest exporter of tea, that rubber produced here is used for latex and tyres — and small bouncy balls that he wouldn't let go of for the next week — and that cinnamon tea is a far superior sharpener than Earl Grey. Samuel learnt how to tap a rubber tree on a walk around the 98-acre estate; the adults blissed out to the heavenly scent of cinnamon as we napped overlooking misty hills of fern and ivy. Over breakfast on Glenross's terrace on our first morning we ogled Bengal monitor lizards slithering up the coconut trees, were deafened by chapping geckos and later sat silently as lightning struck the hills opposite and thunder rumbled over the heritage building. Our home in southeast London felt a galaxy away. Welcome to the tropics, kid. After the Kalutara Highlands it was on to Yala for a couple of days — an easy five-hour drive along an empty, new highway, marvelling at lush palm tree groves, lagoons and road signs warning that peacocks were ahead — and the south coast beaches to finish our Sri Lankan trinity. By the time we reached the hippy beach town of Mirissa, between Galle and Tangalle, we were all in need of a bit of doing nothing, and so gratefully flopped beside the 42m-long saltwater pool at Sri Sharavi Beach Villas & Spa. If I were 21 and could still fit into my elephant harem trousers, I'd love the town's main drag of backpacker joints, cheap spas and cafés called things like Sunset Bar, Lost Paradise and Coconut Kitchen. As it was, three days of doing pulse-slowing activities, such as eating Sri Lankan chicken lamprais, a sort of fried rice wrapped in a banana leaf, for lunch, picking up king coconuts and frangipani flowers from the sand and playing volleyball in the pool, where the only wildlife was other people's children, were just right. Well, we were almost doing nothing. I'm not the sort to take it easy, even on holiday. One morning we kicked things up a gear with a morning cycle ride with Idle Bikes, taking on an eight-mile loop around the paddy fields on the outskirts of Galle, laughing at egrets balancing on water buffaloes' horns as they lolled in big puddles (adults £15, children £8; Another night we took a gentle boat trip around Garadu Gaga lake, stopping in the middle to explore an island that looked like it belonged in Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree and to nudge mimosa flowers, which would close coyly when touched. We knew dusk by the bats that would wake up shrieking (relatable, I thought) and fly in their thousands across the water, darkening the sky above us. Samuel made all the right noises but I think he was secretly more taken with the four pigeons living on our hotel balcony. We had timed our visit with Sri Lankan new year (next year on April 14), which meant fireworks and sundowners at one of the bars along the beach, Lantern@71 (cocktails from £8; It was one of those perfect parenting moments — drinking something boozy with a straw in it, watching your kid and husband kick a ball about in the sand as the sun dripped into the sea. And as in the UK, we were still blissfully asleep by 10pm. • 13 of the best Sri Lanka tours Had we stayed in Sri Lanka longer, we would have explored the cultural triangle in the centre of the country, encompassing the ancient cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy plus the Unesco sites of Sigiriya rock fortress and the cave temples at Dambulla. I'd have liked to have taken the train from Kandy to Ella; and one day perhaps see more than just leopard puzzle pieces. Perhaps that was just too adventurous. Our week looping around southern Sri Lanka's highlights was ideal. The five-year-old survived. So did his Adams was a guest of Stubborn Mule, which has seven nights' half-board from £2,702pp, including flights, transport, tours and some extra meals (
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Time of India
‘Ghost of the mountains' spotted in Spiti: Tourists capture rare snow leopard on camera in thrilling encounter
While road-tripping through Himachal's Spiti Valley, a group of stunned tourists captured a rare sight—an elusive snow leopard calmly walking alongside their car. The majestic creature, often called the 'ghost of the mountains,' appeared unbothered, offering a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse into the wild. The video has since gone viral, evoking awe and concern from nature lovers online. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Nature's Rarity Caught on Camera Why This Sighting Is So Special Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads A Viral Moment, A Gentle Warning Netizens React: A Mix of Awe and Concern A Memory for a Lifetime In an astonishing twist of fate, a group of tourists driving through the breathtaking yet desolate landscapes of Himachal Pradesh's Spiti Valley stumbled upon a sight most people only dream of—an elusive snow leopard calmly walking along the road. The encounter, which took place on May 5, 2025, between 6 and 7 PM, was recorded in a video that has now gone viral on social media, leaving viewers stunned by the serene grace of the big from Kaza to Nako, the group was somewhere near Tabo when the rare predator emerged from the rocky terrain, almost as if materializing out of thin air. Cloaked in a coat of white and grey that mirrored its surroundings, the snow leopard—often dubbed the ghost of the mountains —padded along the roadside, seemingly unfazed by the trailing clip, shared online by traveller Jatin Gupta, shows the leopard walking steadily ahead while the tourists whisper in awe, their voices a mix of wonder and caution. 'Wo bhaag rahi hai hamse,' one person is heard saying, referring to the cat's gentle attempt to distance itself. Another warns, 'Sheesha tod sakti hai,' advising not to get too close to avoid provoking the the proximity, the snow leopard barely acknowledges the vehicle behind it, pausing only briefly before continuing its solitary march through the barren high-altitude landscape. Gupta's caption summed up the group's collective wonder: 'We witnessed something unforgettable… These rare creatures are hardly ever seen, especially in May. Truly a magical moment of our journey.'Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are among the most elusive big cats in the world. Native to the alpine and subalpine zones of Central and South Asia, including India's Himalayan regions, they are typically found at elevations between 3,000 and 4,500 meters. Their population is estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals worldwide, and in India, recent counts under the Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Programme found only 718 across the country—with just 51 in Himachal magnificent animals are often referred to as "ghosts" for a reason. Even seasoned wildlife photographers spend months in harsh terrain waiting for a glimpse. For a group of casual travellers to witness one out in the open—and on a road—is an extraordinary stroke of the video circulated online, it sparked a wave of admiration. One user commented, 'You guys are damn lucky! To witness the ghost of the mountains like this—on the road—is unreal.' Others, however, raised valid concerns. Sharing exact locations of such sightings, they warned, could unintentionally aid snow leopard remains a vulnerable species, with its existence threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and human interference. Conservationists urge caution while sharing such videos, encouraging responsible tourism that respects the fragile balance of the video gained traction online, netizens flooded the comments with admiration and astonishment. Many hailed it as the "rarest experience," calling the sighting a "once-in-a-lifetime" moment and praising the tourists' luck. 'Ghost of the mountains,' wrote one user, echoing the awe surrounding the snow leopard's mythical status. Another pointed out the rarity of such encounters, noting how even seasoned wildlife photographers spend months waiting for a however, raised thoughtful concerns about the leopard's behaviour—its calm demeanour and presence at lower altitudes sparking speculation about its health or age. Nonetheless, the collective sentiment was clear: this was a magical, unforgettable brush with the those lucky tourists in Spiti, the brief encounter was more than just a story for the road. It was a once-in-a-lifetime brush with wild majesty—a reminder that sometimes, nature reveals its wonders not with a roar, but with a quiet, powerful grace. In a world constantly racing forward, the snow leopard asks us to pause, look, and sometimes, magic walks right past you on the road.
