1st October 2024 at 1.58pm 1 Leopard at Kattarambu Villu. N 08.50997, E 079.99141
As we approached Kattarambu Villu, I noticed what looked like the front parts of the paws of a sleeping leopard about 50 meters ahead of us where the road was curving to the right. A look through the binoculars confirmed that it was indeed a leopard. I immediately switched off the engine as leopards, in these less visited areas of the park, are usually not very tolerant of vehicles and often quickly disappear into the forest upon seeing a vehicle during the day. As he was lying on the road at a point where the road curved to the right his body was well concealed by the Dry Zone Purple Bell Stenosiphonium cordifolium shrubs growing gregariously on either side the road. These shrubs made it impossible to get any images of the leopard despite being able to observe his movements through the lens of my camera. He was quite alert and was looking intently in our direction through the shrubs. After about 8 minutes the curious leopard moved his head and looked at us offering a clear view of its face. It was a mature male leopard, and I estimated its age to be about 7 years. By this time, his facial expressions indicated that he was relaxed. After some time, our patience paid off when he stood up and took a few steps in our direction and lied down again in full view. I gathered that he wanted to walk in our direction. Thus, having got a few images and Chandima capturing him on video we decided to reverse the vehicle about 300 meters until the leopard was out of sight and waited in expectation of the leopard emerging from the curved road. A few anxious minutes passed and all at once the leopard appeared on the road again permitting us to capture him at a much closer distance than earlier. As he saw the vehicle he stopped and laid on the road again. This time he was about 30 meters from us. He appeared more relaxed than before but kept his distance. We revered again and watched him walk in our direction. After some time, something in the jungle caught his attention, and the magnificent leopard moved into the forest. Both of us were elated with the sighting and Chandima mentioned that the Jacal theory of Wilpattu yielded positive results after all. We drove down and noted that he had walked from Nabada Wila. I have kept records of this elusive leopard from August 2020 with the help of images shared with me by others who contribute to my study. Most of these sightings were made towards late evenings by those who were staying overnight in park bungalows. This is my first sighting of this leopard. To aid my study, I named him Kattarambu Villu Male 1 with the code KRVM 1.
