Stories from Kumana National Park

Dear Friends, While we celebrate Sri Lanka Leopard Day (thanks to WNPS/DWC/SL Govt.), today we want to highlight glimpse of data we gathered over the years particularly on Leopard Cubs of Kumana – the future of Panthera pardus kotiya. To understand and draw solid conservation plans, it is essential to know if Leopard numbers are [ ]

By merging with the riverbank s vegetation and deep dark forest canopy near the water, leopards become incredibly difficult to spot, even at close range. Their rosette formation and fur coloration help them blend seamlessly into their surroundings. While rivers can provide an essential water supply, leopards may also frequent these areas to prey on animals [ ]

We’ve now set up a display featuring frontal photographs of individual leopards at the entrance to Kumana National Park. The aim is to help visitors recognize the different leopards commonly seen in and around the park and to allow them to compare the spot patterns with those they encounter during their safari. This initiative also [ ]

Earlier this month we had the opportunity to observe mating of KLM21 and KLF23 around Kumana Village Junction. Later the same day, we found them closer to Eda Kumbuka 1 on the river road as well. This was the 1st time we found KLF23 in this area, possible she got attracted to this range [ ]

KLF20 was seen at Okanda Wela on the 22/09/2022. That is approx. 6KM north from her usual range (Bagura/Thummulla). Again on the 02/10/2022 we found her near Boaththagalge, resting on top of a tree, which is again approx. 6KM south from the usual area. Distance between Okanda Wela sighting and Boaththagala sighting is 12KM+. As [ ]

1. We found KLM12 on the 14th July morning at 7:26 closer to Kumana Wewa 2nd Junction. He walked along the road towards Kumana Villu and at times took a few short cuts through jungle and re appeared on the road and continued his patrol while marking his scent. We followed him almost up to [ ]

We did a run through around number of leopards per sighting considering all the leopard encounters we documented so far and below is a quick view. What were the chances of seeing more than one leopard in a sighting?

On the 26th Feb, KLF9 was sighted having a severe wound just above the forehead and it was observed that she got relentlessly followed by swarms of flies around the wound. The rain at the time in Kumana must have made her days difficult with the wound and constant irritation caused by flies. Despite all [ ]