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| Sunday, 18 May 2003 |
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by Farah Macan Markar- "Malithan", "Palu", "Divul", "Katupila", "Kukulumana", "Ranawara" drawls on Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne-CEO of Jetwing Eco Holidays and Director Product Development of Jetwing Hotels, as we pass innumerable bushes, shrubs and trees, explaining what we are seeing - the Yala flora. "The soil has a high content of saline so the plants that grow here are salt adaptable and particular species try to dominate the area...". Listening to this, brought back memories of school. Up in Miss Chandrani's class. Seeing it for life and being given an active lesson about it, kind of awakens me to how real they are. I'm there, with it. I'm with the "Katupila" and "kukulumana", the scorching heat and sharp dry winds, the salty orange soil. I'm in the territory of the leopard, the pools of the crocs, trees of the monkeys, the grasslands of the deer, buffalo and wild boar, the shrubs of the hare, mongoose and python. Yala! And of course how could I forget the birds, with not only the sightings of my twenty six lifers, which included the internationally endangered Lesser Adjutant, the Green Bee Eater, Malabaar Pied Hornbill, Brahminy Kite, and many Painted Stork, but the endless Bird Talk of the Bird Crazy people who accompanied us. While over two hundred and forty bird species have been recorded in the Yala Protected Area Complex, which is rich for birds, for its "mosaic" of different habitats, such as freshwater pools, lagoons, grasslands, thorn scrubs, dry monsoonal forests, sea shore and sand dunes, it seems equally, frequented by many Birders as well. Among the ever present Bird Talk was that of the Nightjars, Hoopoes, Brown Shrikes, and Waders. The latter most of the lot who constantly go wading in and out of the water, around the mud seemed to be of great interest to the Birders, especially the Grey Plover, which they filmed by the side of a lagoon for about 1/2 an hour. Watching it through the binoculars, one could see this chubby two legged fellow walking here and there in the mud, its beak constantly at work, pecking below for a quick bite. Having a stroll and a snack at the same time. Well myself not being a Birder (described as a bird watcher who takes bird watching into a higher intellectual dimension, becoming preoccupied with the identification of a difficult species) yet, all the same had a few interesting experiences, no doubt due to going with these experienced guys. The most interesting of them was the sight of a Mama and Papa Magpie Robbin protecting its nest from a young land monitor. Brer Robin vs. Brer Monitor. Lying low, camouflaged in the insides of a broken branch, whenever the "Thalagoya" ventured out of the hollow, one of the Magpie Robins would dart and try to peck it. Out would go the Thalagoya. A whoosh and a peck would go the Robin. Back in would dart the lizard. A real life game of cat and mouse. Survival of the fittest. Talking of survival, lets move on to the top predator in Sri Lanka, that black spotted yellow coated cat, the leopard. Yala having one of the highest concentration of leopards in the world, everyone told me I was bound to see one which I luckily did, on my birthday too. Want to know what the treat was? Two pairs of leopards ...er...a mating. Well in the first sight it was just the courting actually. The courting ritual was interesting, having so many experts explaining it while it happened. The female having initiated it raised her tail and put what the male guys described as "The female swaying the backside walk". The male who in this case was a pretty much older guy (this being judged from its size) went towards the female. The lady then kept slapping him on the backside, wrapping her tail around him and then they both proceeded further behind the bushes and out of sight. One of the most famous leopards in Yala is "GMC5" (Gonalabbe Meda Para Male Cub No 5). Ever since its first recorded spotting in April 2002, this photogenic, accommodating leopard has become popular for leopard watchers and photographers. There being about thirty leopards in residence in Yala block one, the leopard density is about one for every 1.1 square miles. Among the more well known leopards are the "Chaithya" male, "JRMC1" (Jamburagala Road Male Cub No 1), the "Paddickamma" pair, the "Passmangala" male, and the "Kohombaguswala" male. Speaking to Chandrasena Jayawardena, naturalist of the Yala Safari Game (YSG) Lodge, whose background with nature dates back as far as 1968 when he was in the Wild Life Department, I get some idea of the elephants of Yala, which has a population of about 450-500 in all five blocks, which include twelve recorded tuskers. My own sightings of these travelling animals, were of elephant dung fresh and old, foot prints, two solitary mammals, and the most interesting of all, a mother with two calves. "The Wild Life Department should take a more active role here, by building proper fences and electrical wiring. The fact that our country which is a small island should have elephants living in it is an ecological miracle". So what's it like being a naturalist? Chandresena replies this one with a lot of enthusiasm It's great. Nilantha another naturalist of the YSG Lodge ventures to tell his story. Having loved nature as a kid, Nilantha says his job is basically his hobby. So what's this guy's biggest passion? "Rabbits" he says at once. "I like to think of myself as a Rabbiter. Unfortunately Sri Lanka is not a rabbit country. So I have to settle for its brother, the Hare". Nothing but a good relaxation is needed in the afternoon, after an eventful morning game drive. And for this we steer ourselves towards those little huts constructed of wattle and daub. Bird Hides. Positioned a hundred feet away from a lagoon, we sit in this magical place, in the heart of the YSG Lodge. In front of us lie the still waters of a lagoon shimmering under the sun, beyond it the light brown banks of the other side, and in the distance, the dark indigo of the sea... |
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