Wild Wonders of Sri Lanka: Whales, Leopards & Elephants

Earlier this year Peter Smart, wildlife photographer and Wild Arena’s overseas tour leader, accompanied a group for our first tour to explore the Wild Wonders of Sri Lanka. The presence of good numbers of several species of whales and dolphins off the coast of the island - particularly in February - has been known to researchers for a numbers of years. However only recently has there been the opportunity for the rest of us to explore these waters. We have been working with a local operator for some time to develop an itinerary to go in search of cetaceans as well as exploring several of the national parks in the country. Recent studies have suggested that Yala National Park has the world’s highest concentration of leopard per square kilometer while Udawalawe National Park is one of the best places for seeing Asian Elephants in the wild.

We’re delighted to say that the country and the wildlife fulfilled our expectations. While at sea, we had many close encounters with Blue Whales - as many as six together at one time - and hundreds of Spinner Dolphins. A number of leopards and many elephants were seen in Yala and Udawalawe, while a locally arranged additional excursion to the recently re-opened Wilpattu National Park in the north of the country delivered another Leopard and, unexpectedly, a Sloth Bear! Other wildlife included Golden Jackals, Land Monitor, Water Buffalo, Grey Langur monkeys and an astonishing variety of colourful and approachable birds. Special mention must go to the three species of Bea-eaters which are present in the country which, unlike most of their kind in Africa, actually gave us time to photograph them from close quarters!

Our whale-watching trips started from the small fishing port of Mirissa using an ideal boat exclusively chartered for our group. On our first trip we saw a Blue Whale spouting in the distance. As we approached the incredible size became more apparent even though we could only see the shorter distance between the plume and the fin as it breathed on the surface. A call came from the experienced crew - one we were to hear many times of the next few days - of “tail up” indicating that the mighty cetacean was heading for the deep … the body arched and the huge tail came clear of the water, giving us the first of many classic views of this mighty beast. On one occasion we were surrounded by six Blue Whales and the total number we saw was well into double figures.

A full tour report, including a gallery of images, from this year’s trip may be found on the Sri Lanka page of our web site under Overseas Tours.

We have now arranged our return to Sri Lanka in February 2012 and full details are now available for our return to the whales, dolphins, leopards, elephants and other amazing wildlife of this wonderful island.