Leopards of Wilpattu

3rd February 2024 at 1.21pm one Leopard between Illanda Motte and Manik Wila. N 08.45633, E 079.98872

It was an adult female. She walked towards Illanda Motte and moved in to the forest due to the arrival of a few vehicles. Upon studying her spot pattern, I was happy to note this is the Manikrala Uraniya female 1 (MRUF 1) on my site. She was seen with two cubs last Saturday, which is her second litter so far. Unfortunately for me the cubs were not with her company today.

1st July 2023 at 2.45pm 3 leopards at the Sambhur kill at Kudapatessa. N 08.43159, E 079.99229

I observed a dead Sambhur antler at Kudapatessa in the morning during the last day of my previous visit to the park on the 27th of June 2023. The jeep drivers who occupied the park bungalows confirmed that they had not observed this carcass the previous evening. There were no leopard sightings associated with this carcass or the entire day.
I received information of leopard sightings at this kill from the 28th and was thrilled to have spotted two leopards, and adult male and a younger male, sleeping under the shade of a tree at the edge of the forest. After some time, a third female leopard walked up to the adult male and was enticing him to mate with her by engaging in typical premating behaviour by rubbing her body against him and sitting on his body ect. The big male mounted her and mated with her once. Thereafter she moved back in to the jungle. Around 4.15pm The younger male walked down the sand rimmed edge of the villu, and the female followed him up to the kill. But while the male started to feed on the kill the female turned back and walked back to the big male. After feeding for about 10 minutes the younger male walked back to where the big male and lied down beside him. There was no aggression expressed by the big male or the female towards the younger male.
Later upon examining the spot patterns of these leopards I was happy to note that the big male was Nelum Wila Male 5 (NWMC 5), the dominant male of the area. The female is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1), who is referred to as Kuruttupandi female by the jeep drivers and who successfully raised one female cub with her first litter. The younger male is Kumbuk Wila Male 1 (KWMC 1), one of the first litter male cubs of Kumbuk Wila Female 1 (KWFC 1), popularly known as Cleopatra. It is quite likely that this big male is the father of this cub.

4th March 2023 at 4.10pm one leopard at Kudapatessa. N 08.43123, E 079.99348
The female leopard was lying out in the open and was looking away from us. After some time, she stood up and walked to the edge of the water and started to drink. The beautiful Lunu Wila Flowers and Horsefly’s Eye flowers (Bim Savan) in the foreground and background permitted me to get a few good images of the leopardess. Upon examination of her spot-pattern I noted that this is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1).

6th November 2022 at 9.42am one leopard at Manikrala Uraniya. N 08.45171, E 079.99462

It was an adult female and was looking in the direction of a few Spotted Deer feeding in the open grassland. She looked in my direction once as I arrived but thereafter was intently looking in the direction of the deer. After a few minutes she moved into the forest. It was Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1) popularly referred to as Kuruttupandi Female by the jeep drivers and guides.

1st October 2022 at 11.00am one leopard at Kuruttupandi Villu. N 08.43841, E 079.98244

As we drove down to Kuruttupandi Villu, Sadun mentioned that sometimes leopards can be seen on the trees at this locality. As the vehicle came to a stop, I was thrilled to spot a leopard lying on the main branch of a nearby Madan Tree. It was well concealed from view and was covered by the leafy branches of the tree. Thankfully a strong breeze which moved these branches helped Deepthi and me to get a few images of the sleeping leopard. It was Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1), a leopard which is quite tolerant of the safari vehicles. After having observed her for almost one and a half hours, during which time she stood up and stretched on two occasions but did not get off the tree, we decided to drive towards Manik Wila. On the way we met safari jeep driver Jeevan Nishantha and informed him of the leopard.
12.51pm Upon our return Jeevan, who was parked close to the tree where we spotted the leopard indicated to us that a leopard was moving in the direction of the road by flashing his head lights, which is a common practice in the park to indicate the presence of a leopard. Sandun brought our vehicle to a halt. Within a few minutes the female leopard we observed on the tree moved on to the edge of the road, casually walked across permitting us to get a few images. Having crossed the road, she marked her territory by defecating and walked into the forest. We were pleased that we arrived “just in time” to capture the leopard crossing the road.
(with Safari jeep driver Sandun Dushmantha Semasinghe, Prasanna Kumara and Deepthi Senevitarne)

14th August 2022 at 5.10pm one Leopard at Mahapatessa. N 08.43428, E 080.00063
The female leopard was lying at the edge of the forest facing the direction of the Villu. It was Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). Having captured a few images, I left as I had to reach the park entrance by 6pm. (with guide Tissa Ratnayake)

18th September 2021 at 3.08pm one Leopard between Manik Wila sand patch and Kurruttupandi Villu. N 08.44638, E 079.98343

The female Leopard was seated on the road with its back towards us. It looked as if she was stalking some prey. I brought the vehicle to a halt and turned off the engine. She moved closer to the edge of the road and jumped up on to the bank but soon moved back on the road, walked in our direction, and moved back into the forest. When she turned, I noted that this is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1) popularly referred to as the “Kuruttupandi female” by the guides and jeep drivers. As her first litter cub was seen with her from early August this year, I looked around for the cub, but it was not in the vicinity.

5th September 2021 at 7.46am a Leopard between Mahapatessa and Kudapatessa. N 08.43258, E 079.99748

I was driving from Mahapatessa towards Kudapatessa and spotted the Leopard walking in my direction. I reversed and got a few images of the advancing cat. It was an adult female, and I was able to instantly recognize her as Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1) popularly known in the park as the Kuruttupandi Female. She walked almost up to Mahapatessa but her attention was drown to some movement from the forest and she sprinted off the road. As no distress call followed, I knew that she did not make any kill.

6th March 2021 at 2.03pm one Leopard Between Manikrala Uraniya and Eriyakkulampooval. N 08.43739, E 080.00172
The female leopard was lying on a horizontal branch of a tree about 30 feet from the road. She was quite relaxed and looked in our direction offering me to get a few good images. In a few minutes she stood up and walked down the tree trunk on to the ground. Having “marked” the foot of the tree she moved on to the road and started to walk towards Eriyakkulampooval. After examining the surroundings for a few minutes, she walked to the edge of the water and drank water for a few minutes. A Wild Boar that was feeding on the edge of this water body towards the Demata Wila end detected her presence and ran in to the forest. Having walked along the strip between the water’s edge and the forest she moved into the forest in the direction of Demata Wila. Upon checking the spot pattern, I was happy to note that this is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). (with guide Kapilan Sivarasa). Our guide was highly excited as this it was his first sighting of a leopard in the wild.

24th January 2021 11.20am one Leopard between Manik Wila and Illandamotte. N 08.45568, E 079.98812

It was a female leopard and was walking towards Manik Wila. Upon seeing the leopard I switched off the engine and the cat responded by lying down on the road. A closer look at the spot pattern revealed that this is the Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). She was licking her paws and her body and every now and then looking in my direction. I reversed the vehicle expecting the leopard to start her walk again and she did. As usual I always maintained a distance of about 30 feet to give the leopard space. She would walk for a short distance and rest again. Having walked up to the upper road junction she walked on to the upper road. I then started to follow her up to the end of that road where she started to stalk some Spotted Deer. Her ambush attack was not successful as the deer started to give out alarm calls and ran across the road. A loud alarm call of a Ceylon Jungle Fowl indicated that she had walked very close to the back of the DWC quarters at Manik Wila. There after a few alarm calls of Palm Squirrels indicated that she had crossed the road and moved in to the forest beyond the bungalow. I was observing the leopard for almost one hour and 30 minutes.

23rd January 2021 10.45am one Leopard between Kokkare Villu and Kuruttupandi Villu.
N 08.43314, E 079.98274

It was an adult female leopard and walking towards Kuruttupandi Villu. Examination of its spot pattern reveled that it is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). Her belly flap was low indicating that she is feeding cubs. The leopard walking ahead of us and there was one vehicle ahead me. I managed to get a few images when she stopped to scent mark a couple of times. I was following her and the vehicles in front kept on reversing to accommodate the advancing leopard. However much to our disgust the vehicle in front delayed to reverse forcing the cat to move in to the forest. (with guide Tissa Ratnayake)

12th December 2020 at 4.28pm one Leopard at Kuruttupandi Villu. N 08.43673, E 079.98171
The Leopard was sleeping on the edge of the forest with its back towards the villu. Despite there being many safari jeeps they were kind enough to give me space to park where I had a good view of the sleeping feline. Thank fully the female leopard raised its head on one occasion permitting me to get a few images of the right side of its face adequate enough to identify the leopard. As I suspected it is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). At 4.48pm I decided to leave, as I had to reach the park entrance by 6.00pm.

28th November 2020 at 11.55am one Leopard at Eriyakkulampooval. N 8 26.246 E 80. 00 169

We observed the Leopard across the Villu. She walked along the edge of the water and started to drink. Thereafter walked along the forest edge and moved in to the forest. Upon examination of her spot pattern I was pleased to note that it is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1).

21st June 2020 at 12.14pm one Leopard on a tree between Kokkare Villu and Kuruttupandi Villu. N 08.42824, E 079.98279
The female leopard was sleeping on a branch of a tree above the road. It was Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). She had a full belly and changed her position on a few occasions but remained on this tree for almost 3 hours before getting off the same. She was quite at ease and did not even look in my direction despite my moving the vehicle a few times to get images each time she changed her position. Having got off she defecated at the foot of the tree, crossed the road by walking very close to a safari jeep parked in front and climbed another tree. As there were other jeeps that arrived I left the leopard and moved off. I observed this leopard from 12.14pm until 2.52pm. (with safari jeep driver Gayan)

2nd February 2020 at 7.35am a male and a female leopard at Kudapatessa. N 08.43129, E 079.99345
I was informed of a mating pair of Leopards seen the previous day evening at Kuruttupandi Villu. Thus I arrived at the park entrance at 2.30am to ensure that I will be the first vehicle to enter the park. We drove down to Kuruttupandi Villu and had no luck but arrived at Kudapataess to spot the two leopards in the nick of time before they moved in to the forest. The male and the female exhibited typical leopard mating behavior but did not mate. They walked together in the direction of the sand dune across the villu but thankfully the female stopped and laid down resulting in the male to stop as well. After a few minutes the male resumed the walk followed by the female. Both the leopards walked over the sand dune in to the forest. The male was the Nelum Wila Mlae 5 (NWMC 5) and the female was Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). I received images of these two leopards mating on the 14th of February in 2019 and thereafter again on the 12th of June the same year. However this female is yet to conceive. (with guide Hashan Madushanka)

7th June 2019 at 7.01am a female Leopard between Kokkare Villu and Kuruttupandi Villu. N 08.43176, E 079.98277

It was a female Leopard and she was walking in the direction of Kuruttupandi villu. Unfortunately for me she did not turn back to look in our direction but continued to walk with me following from a distance of about 25 meters. Having walked close to the Kudapatessa junction she stopped and moved in to the forest upon detecting the presence of a troop of Grey Langur. I was able to identify the Leopard as the Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1) with the spot pattern on her tail. (with guide Tissa Ratnayake)

29th July 2018 at 3.50pm one Leopard at Kudapatessa.  N 08.43123, E 079.99348

 We drove from Kokkare Villu sand dune towards Kudapatessa and spotted the leopard about 50 meters before Kudapatessa turn off. It was a female leopard and marked the bushes as she walked towards Kudapatessa. We followed her while maintaining a safe distance of about 50 meters. Mush to my joy she walked down to Kudapatessa and started to drink. She drank for almost 6 minutes. A flock of Peafowl took particular interest in her and walked in her direction but maintained a fair distance. Having finished her drink the leopard held her tail up and walked passed the inquisitive flock of peafowl that started to follow her until she disappeared in to the forest in the direction of Mahapatessa. Examination of the spot pattern revealed that this is Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1) (with guide Tissa Ratnayake)

25th March 2018 at 3.50pm one Leopard at Manikrala Uraniya. N 08.45051, E 079.99454

It was a young female leopard and she was stalking a sounder of Wild Boar. After a minute or so she sprinted in to the forest in pursuit of her prey. But her fate reversed almost instantly when the Wild Boar came together to charge her. She moved back on to the road and walked in to the forest. Having examined the spot pattern I was able to identify this leopard as the Kuruttupandi Leopard 1 listed under “Leopards of Wilpattu – Guest” section. This is my first sighting of this leopard. I estimated her age to be around 2 years and 6 months. I named her Manikrala Uraniya Female 1 (MRUF 1). ( with guide Tissa Ratnayake)