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Year and Month | 23-24 Jan 2016 |
Number of Days | 2 |
Crew | Hasitha, Gayan and Me + Wildlife Tracker and Our Jeep Driver Senevi |
Accommodation | Manawila Wildlife Bungalow |
Transport | By Car and Jeep |
Activities | Wildlife, Photography, Relaxing, etc… |
Weather | Excellent but some showers in the afternoon on the first day. |
Route | Colombo->Puttalam->Saliyawewa->Wilpattu National Park and back on the same route. |
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Author | Sri Abeywickrema |
Comments | Discuss this trip report, provide feedback or make suggestions at Lakdasun Forum on the thread
Seeking the Holy Grail of Wilpattu National Park – Pictorial Story 1… |
Hi everyone, hope everything is well and you’re having a rock-n-roll time with the excellent weather after the downpours. It’s best you make hay while sun shines as this dry season will then become unbearable. After the Galagama Ella Journey, which left me down and injured ruining the entire holiday season, I spent time recuperating and when Hasi put forward the idea of visiting Wilpattu, I couldn’t have been happier.
So this is going to be my Pictorial Story about our visit to the most prestigious wildlife park in Sri Lanka which is renowned for the Holy Grail of Wildlife, the Leopard. Before you get any ideas about seeing some lustrous leopard sightings, I might as well make you disappoint right now. There are no pictures of the leopards in this report. The reason; well it’s quite simple. We didn’t come across any, that’s why there are no pictures.
One needs to be extremely lucky to come across leopards and bears and even luckier to get pictures of them. However we either weren’t that lucky, at least not just yet or others have already used up our luck without us being present. The way Dhana, Harsha and Rajiv have taken pictures of leopards in Wipattu, I wonder if there’re any more opportunities left for casual travelers like us. So go to Dhana’s report which I’ve given above for some sensational leopard sightings. However, we did come across the second mostly sought after animal, Sri Lankan Sloth Bear. It was when we were down and out and ready to leave the park.
So guys, go grab a mug of hot choco closer and put your legs up on the table and get comfortable. You’re in for a longer night, not with another of my fairy tales, but a story being narrated by the owners of Wilpattu. Yeah, they are unquestionably the very owners of the Wilpattu National Park. I have no right to tell their story when they were quite willingly offered to do it for me. So I’m just playing the messenger and hopefully you won’t feel like shooting the messenger.
They also wanted to pass a message to the seemingly deaf powers-that-be which I’ve enclosed at the end of the report. I’m just being their voice because they have no means to rise against the injustice being forced upon them and their homeland. They can’t hire posh lawyers to represent them at the courts. Worst of all, they are not registered to vote thus no politician will look at them favorably. So folks, this is the story of the Wildlife of Wilpattu.
23 Jan
Ok, how was the journey so far? I’m sure they kept you entertained and it’s time we went to the bungalow and settled down a bit before the evening safari. Of course we are hungry too as we had our breakfast around 9am at the Kumbukwila. Not to mention the egg hoppers we had around 3.30am just before Wilpattu Junction. Ok, the Manawila Bungalow too has her story and you gonna have to listen to her too. Here is her chance and let her know if you’ll like to go stay with her.
So, did you like her story? While you were listening to her, we had a sumptuous lunch with fried tank fish and it’d started to rain too. So we were confined to the bungalow for about 2 hours but miraculously the rains eased coz Lady Wilpattu pushed the rain clouds away paving the way for us to explore some more. Right, there are a lot of others to meet us and you, so let’s not keep them waiting.
How did you like the rest of the evening? We were still not that lucky to have come across the most sought after thing in Wilpattu, the leopard. However, we were not disappointed coz there were many others who came to see us and introduced themselves. The leopards on the other hand were too shy to come say hi or they were downright proud of themselves and decided to prolong our agony.
Our caretakers had prepared a delicious dinner and without waiting any longer, we sat and devoured the meal to find we were very hungry. Or, did I tell you those rascals at Kumbukwila stole our eggs, a whole 15 of them with the bag but found it too heavy and dropped them about 20ft high onto the ground cracking them open. The bag was full of hay (which were to keep them from breaking), egg shells and a pint of yellow liquid when we found it, a little too late for our liking. Thankfully Senevi managed to get us some more in the evening via another jeep.
Well, we’re sleepy and the cool air coming from the Manawila Tank is refreshing and soothing. It made us sleepy and the mosquito nets kept us safe from all the insects humming about. While we got into the beds, there was a herd of deer that had come to nibble the fresh grass tips off the bungalow bordering the tank. Our torches picked up a herd with more than a dozen or so deer but we just left them alone and came to bed. Tomorrow we’ve gotta try and find these stubborn leopards and bears and then head home. Good night folks and see you in the morning!
24 Jan
Good morning and golly I slept like a log till 5.30am. It’d been raining in the night but I had no idea about it coz I was sound asleep like a hibernating grizzly. Feels like new and all I need is a wash and some hearty meal to go with but Hasi has a different plan. We’re gonna see some more friends and listen to them after a hot coffee. Come on and hop in our jeep.
After a short safari we returned to the bungalow and had our breakfast while the caretakers packed our lunch. Still no luck with the leopard or bear but Senevi was hopeful and we were to head towards Panikkawila where the leopards had been sighted most inside Wilpattu. There were a few friends around the bungalow and they too have a story to tell us. Here’s their chance.
I guess it’s time we went coz the time is flying when we’re not looking. We’re going for a day-long safari and will see you again at lunch time at Kumbukwila. Until then, enjoy the stories unfolding before us.
Gosh, we had some first class sightings and are feeling the heat of the day. So we decided to come and have lunch at Kumbukwila as it’s the only place other than park bungalows where you can get down and have a meal. Please respect that rule coz we must help park authorities to maintain the law and order inside the park and not bother the wildlife too much. After all it’s their territory and we have no right to go and disturb their freedom.
There were a few other groups having lunch and discussing the day’s events. One group had seen a leopard and he’d been giving them a nice photo shootout and I went wild with envy as they narrated their experience with such excitement. “Why on earth they don’t come to see us?” I asked Senevi sadly. The rascals who roam around Kumbukwila begging and stealing food from the visitors were in full force. I wonder how long before there will have to take some stern measures to control them as they’ve become very bold and aggressive towards the visitors. After all it’s the fault of some of those ignorant people who’d fed them in the first place going against the park rules and regulations. Now those animals will have to pay the price if and when someone gets injured.
Here’s their story if you’re interested.
The lunch was superb and after a short break we decided to go for the final push and see if the leopards and bears have changed their minds. It was a good day with grandeur sightings except for those two. So let’s see if we’re gonna get any lucky this time around.
It’s time to end our journey and head back to the main entrance coz the time is past 4pm. We’ve around 200km to go back so decided to turn around and head home feeling sad and down. However, our guardian angels didn’t wanna disappoint us altogether coz they’d kept the best, well not the very best, till the last moment. As we were leaving one other jeep stopped by and told Senevi that there’s a bear so we went and parked at the sighted location. There was nothing but the thick bushes but we waited patiently and this bear, having taken pity on us, came to see us even though he didn’t much look at us as he was solely interested in termites in the wet ground. Here’s his story and the rest of the journey.
Well guys, what do you think? We were duly rewarded by that single bear and all the frustration welling inside us vanished into thin air even though there was this slight nagging feeling of not having seen a leopard. Well, in a way it’s good coz it’ll make us go there soon. Have you heard that hopes help people live? Well the hopes of seeing that Holy Grail will keep us going. Well, if you think the stories are over, you’re mistaken coz we’ve got a story of a small family to tell you before we wrap it up. Here it is and we met them on the road to the park about 1km from the entrance.
That’s the story of the Wilpattu and I hope you liked it as much as we did. It was a great pleasure to have been acquainted with all those beautiful creatures of the Mother Nature. Some of them were very forward and enthusiastic to talk to us while some of them shied away, most notably the leopard, probably due to the meanness shown towards them by the reckless travelers and the dangers posed to their homeland by some maniac politicians.
It’s always a great pleasure to go and be able to see these wonderful creatures of Mother Nature in their natural habitats. Unfortunately sheer commercialization and reduction of the remaining forest areas have created so many problems for them and at this rate there’ll be very little for us to go and see. Ok, this is supposed to be their story so it’s time I stopped my narration and sign off.
Take care of yourself and also our precious wildlife, forest and waterfalls whenever you can. Do no matter how small it is to the betterment of them. You’ll be duly rewarded in time. This is Sri saying goodbye and will see you guys again.
By the way, don’t forget to their plea before you sign off.
Here’s the plea from the true owners, the Wildlife, of Wilpattu:
“Dear Mr. President, we thought the so-called good governance which was the main motto in your campaign would apply to the wildlife as well, not just for those who voted for you. We’re sure that you know it’s not our fault we are not given the voting powers to choose the kind of leader we prefer. We do not demand that useless power either. We were highly impressed when you, as the president, kept the Ministry of Environment under your own portfolios in addition to the Defense Ministry unlike other presidents whose primary interest was in Finance.
Our hopes soared sky high because we felt that you were giving us the due recognition and safety under your leadership. We thought you’d realized how much the wildlife of this country had been abused by the so-called people’s leaders and environmental enthusiasts. We’ve been shown to the world in every possible way paving the way for more income both from local and foreign tourists. It’s because of us politicians can boast about the rich bio-diversity in this tiny island and make more money towards the betterment of this country and its people.
They have earned billions of dollars thanks to us but very little of those was spent for the welfare of us. The money was spent instead to build highways, ports, airports and feed some 20 million people. Not to forget the large chunks which went missing god knows where. They spent peanuts on us but the dangers to us increased by many times every passing day. The forests were at the mercy of loggers and poachers who had the political backing to slaughter our friends at will. Our homelands were destroyed at an unprecedented rate confining us to tiny patches of woodlands with nothing much to feed on.
Our elder brothers, the wild elephants were the most affected by this destruction. They were forced into wildlife parks and most of their homes were either given to farming or settling people down. Your decision to call them ‘Wana Ali’ instead of ‘Wal Ali’ made no difference coz it didn’t help them in anyway. Whether they were ‘Wana’ or ‘Wal’, they need a place to live. Not just a few acres of useless forest patches which have been raped by loggers over and over again, but a complete forest with no dangers posed on them. We don’t feel bad of you or anyone calling them ‘Wal Ali’. You can call us anything for that matter so long as you let us live in peace and leave us alone.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen any progress shown during your tenure so far for the well-being of us. Instead you continue to watch the destruction of Wilpattu and its sub forest areas by your close political allies. The waterfalls are being destroyed in the name of hydro-electricity. What we don’t understand is why don’t you utilize the sunlight, wind and sea tides you get 100% free to the maximum before destroying us?
We hope you’ll at least now pay attention and do something instead of preaching around wherever you go about the importance of us. We’ve nobody else to seek help from so please hear us out and do something to protect what’s left of us for the future generations of this country including your sons, daughters and grandchildren. May you gain the strength and the wisdom before it’s too late!
Yours sincerely,
The wildlife of Wilpattu.”