Sri Lanka’s lesser-known Kumana National Park, on the country’s southeastern coast, has emerged as a leopard stronghold, according to a recent study, contributor Malaka Rodrigo reports for Mongabay.
Using camera traps and statistical models, researchers from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the Department of Wildlife Conservation estimated there’s a leopard density of around 41 of the big cats per 100 square kilometers, or about 106 leopards per 100 square miles, in the park’s eastern region.
Previous studies have found that the better-known Yala National Park in Sri Lanka’s south, popular for its leopard sightings, has about 54 leopards per 100 km2 (140 per 100 mi2); Wilpattu National Park in the northwest has about 18 per 100 km2 (46 per 100mi2); and Horton Plains National Park has an estimated 12 leopards per 100 km2 (31 per 100 mi2).
Kumana today spans 357 km2 (138 mi2). It was first declared a sanctuary in 1938 for its birdlife, including large colonies of waterbirds. It was designated a national park in 1960, and Sri Lanka’s fifth Ramsar wetland site in 2010. Park warden Dileep Samaranayaka told Mongabay that Kumana has recently gained popularity among visitors for its leopard sightings. With concerns about potential overtourism at Yala, Kumana is emerging as an alternative destination for leopard enthusiasts.
A citizen science initiative called Kumana Leopards, which relies on visitor observations of leopards in the park, has documented 80 individual leopards there since 2019. Led by Shanaka Kalubowila and his team, the initiative offers a field guide for identifying individual leopards and aims to provide evidence-based insights into the conservation of the Sri Lankan leopard, Rodrigo writes.
Kumana’s leopards face several threats, largely from outside the park where they sometimes venture to prey on domestic buffalo calves. Buffalo herders kill the leopards in retaliation, with several leopard deaths recorded recently, Samaranayaka said.
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is categorized as a species vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List, with its populations declining worldwide.
Researchers from the Wilderness and Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT) estimate Sri Lanka may have about 1,000 leopards.
Read the full story by Malaka Rodrigo here.
Banner image: A relaxed leopard family in Kumana. Sightings like this have boosted the popularity of this national park in eastern Sri Lanka among wildlife tourists seeking to spot encounters. Image courtesy of Shanaka Kalubowila.
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