Leopards of Wilpattu

16th April 2021 at 3.14pm one Leopard between Kokkare Villu and Kumbuk Wila. N 08.42025, E 080.00220
A safari jeep was parked at a distance and the driver flashed the head lights signaling the presence of a leopard. When I arrived, the leopard had moved into the forest from the open patch where it had been seen. However, we move a little forward and spotted the leopard lying down partly covered by a bush. I managed to get a few images before the animal got up and moved into the forest. Its behaviour suggested that it’s not habituated with vehicles as much as the usually seen leopards. Later upon its spot pattern I was quite pleased to note that this is Illanda Motte Male 1 (IMM 1) that I had photographed in early February 2020 at Illanda Motte. I have so far had only 3 records of this very shy male. ( with guide Tissa Ratnayake)

2nd February 2020 at 10.39am we drove up to Illanda Motte and were surprised to see another Leopard on the road. N 08.45756, E 079.98941

It was a shy young male leopard and had its body lowered to the ground upon our arrival. As soon as we saw him he ran in to the forest. As it was obvious that this is not a leopard that is habituated much with vehicles I revered and waited for some time expecting the leopard to move back on to the road but had no luck. Thus I drove passed the location where the leopard enter the forest and saw him seated about 15 feet in the thicket. I continued to drive well beyond where the animal was seen, as I wanted him to be relaxed with the vehicle and turned back. When I arrived at the spot the leopard was still there and I managed to get a few images of this shy animal before he disappeared further in to the forest. Having examined its spot pattern I realized that this is not a leopard that I was familiar with and suspected that it is an animal that is not in my database. My suspicion was confirmed upon comparing his spot pattern with all the others. It was a young well-built male leopard of about 4 years in age. As this is my first sighting of this animal I named it Illanda Motte Male 1 (IMM 1). (with guide Hashan Madushanka)