Entry 4

The leopard project’s work is not restricted to Dunumadallawa however as we have also been conducting presence/absence surveys throughout the hills and another more detailed comparative study in the Agrapatana Arboretum which sits in the high hills beside the Agra-Bopats forest reserve. This is the heart of tea estate country with miles upon miles of well trimmed tea bushes crowning rolling hills that once supported a teeming array of wildlife. Leopards still use the border tea estates to connect between forest patches and also as extensions of their ranges. Leopard activity in this area is higher than in the heavily urbanized area around Dunumadallawa. The forest here is thick and lush, with trails changing with the seasons and almost impenetrable when it is wet. Still we have managed to get some camera trap photos of leopards there, particularly a young adult female that was frequently using the Arboretum, a re-generating patch of old tea land.