Wildlife Watching

Lots to See in Sri Lanka

Wildlife Watching /

Visiting Sri Lanka, I enjoyed seeing wonderful wildlife and some truly amazing iconic temples.

It had never occurred to me to visit Sri Lanka until one of my wildlife watching mates suggested it. Until then, I just knew Sri Lanka was once called Ceylon and is famous for tea. Not that I drink tea. After a trip there in October, I can tell you it is well worth a visit – both for wildlife viewing and cultural sightseeing.

Wildlife in Wilpattu

There are several national parks and other viewing spots in Sri Lanka. The largest park is Wilpattu, which is where we went. Wilpattu is famous for sloth bears and leopards – which are always described as ‘elusive’ just in case you don’t see them. Luckily we did. 

On our first day, we saw a sloth bear avidly digging into a termite mound and gleefully sucking up its contents. It was our only sighting of a sloth bear, but a truly memorable one. He wasn’t remotely perturbed by our presence, so we stayed for a while. A great opportunity to put my new camera to its test. It passed.

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Memories of Madikwe

Wildlife Watching /

After a four-year gap, going on safari again was a real treat. I’m very lucky to have seen the Big Five a few times, so these days I like to choose a destination where I’m likely to see something new. This time my target was wild dogs, or painted wolves. For this I selected Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, to be followed by a week’s holiday Cape Town. 

Madikwe is Northwest of Johannesburg, near the Botswana Border. I set off in early February with good friend and travelling buddy, Bernie, and (most important of all) my camera gear. We flew overnight to Johannesburg, then were taken on a five-hour drive to the reserve. It was lovely to be back in SA seeing the familiar and expansive countryside.

Despite the long journey and absence of sleep on the flight (thanks to BA’s ridiculous rationing of space in Economy), we couldn’t resist the opportunity to have a game drive on arrival. We saw lots – but no wild dogs.

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Appreciating All Animals

Wildlife Watching /

Enjoying Local Nature in Lockdown

‘Sitting on a jeep at sunrise, watching a giraffe reach into a tree to munch on leaves.’ My usual answer to the question, ‘What have you missed the most this year?’ ‘Oh yes, and seeing the sea.’ Of course, I miss friends and family too, but at least I can see them on Zoom.

Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the lemurs of Madagascar, the Big Five in the Masai Mara, those amazing polar bears and other wildlife wonders.  2020 was to be no different, with a trip to Sri Lanka booked. But along came COVID-19, and everything changed. …

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Polar Perspectives

Wildlife Watching /

J89A2008

We stood on the deck scanning the horizon. The long lens on my camera was heavy but I didn’t mind. I peered across the ice, willing it to come into view. Then I spotted it. A yellow blob. Yes, there! It was one of those moments I’ll never forget. I said to myself, ‘I’m actually here. In the Arctic. And I’ve just seen a polar bear.’ …

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The Maasai Mara: Different Views and Well-deserved Reviews

Wildlife Watching /

A morning drive in the Maasai Mara. Hard to beat. Yet more wonderful sightings of animals enjoying life in the wild. For most of our time in the Mara we’d been pretty much on our own; just us 4 friends in a jeep with an excellent spotter and guide. Finding us regular sightings. Sometimes even on request. Another leopard, please. No problem.

This day there were a few more jeeps about. Some were rushing along at speed, all going in the same direction. Probably to see a kill. That sense of excitement. Check camera settings ready for action. …

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The Brazilian Pantanal: Home to Jaguars & Jabiru, Otters & Ocelots

Wildlife Watching /

People sometimes ask me where they should go to view wildlife. That rather depends on what they want to see! Most of us think of the Big 5 and that’s certainly a great place to start. Many different destinations in Africa tick that box. But what next? In the last few years I’ve been lucky enough to see orangutans in Borneo, lemurs in Madagascar, bears in Canada and those truly amazing polar bears (and walruses) up in the Arctic. So, how would a trip to the Brazilian Pantanal stack up? Would we see jaguars?   …

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