www.alankudabeach.com<\/a>) which had fast, eighteen footer speed boats. The support by Dallas Martenstyn and his co-investors to me, dramatically changed how the Kalpitiya Peninsula will be viewed. In 2008, they had established it as a top site for watching spinner dolphins. I was able to come up with sightings and credible reasons as to why Kalpitiya can also be a whale watching hot spot (see Sunday Times 07 March 2010). It also allowed me to pursue a long held dream to find a top spot in Sri Lanka for seeing rare pelagic seabirds (see Sunday Times 25 April).<\/p>\nIn March 2010 we handled Andrew Sutton and Chris Waller who filmed and took still photographs of Blue and Sperm Whales in the seas South of Mirissa. The link to their images travelled around widely by email and many more underwater film makers and photographers are likely to come to both Mirissa and Kalpitiya in the future. More and more people are aware of marine mammals and with the advent of digital photography every month more and more Sri Lanka wildlife enthusiasts are up-loading images of cetaceans photographed in Sri Lankan waters to flickr.com and other picture sharing websites.<\/p>\n
So in my view, having the Blue Whale and Sperm Whale in Sri Lanka’s top list of ‘animals to see’ makes sense. This is because we are a reliable location for seeing these highly desired animals and they underline that Sri Lanka is an oceanic, tropical island and one with the potential to be one of the leading marine mammal watching destinations in the world. The case for including the Sperm Whale also brings me to articulate a set of criteria for making the top list.<\/p>\n
Criteria<\/strong><\/p>\nAn animal that makes it to the Big Five list must satisfy the following criteria.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n| Big<\/td>\n | It must be physically big.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Desirable<\/td>\n | It must be an animal which is so desirable that people would travel from the other end of the world to see it.<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Awe<\/td>\n | Must be capable of inspiring awe and fear because it does kill or can kill people.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Strike Rate<\/td>\n | It must be possible to see it with a reasonable degree of likelihood for it to be sellable as a wildlife tourism product.<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Sri Lanka a Top Site<\/td>\n | Sri Lanka should be one of the best places in the world in which to see it.<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Mainstream Tour<\/td>\n | Ideally, the species chosen, subject to seasonality, should have a reasonable likelihood of being seen in the course of a single, affordable tour which can be used for mainstream tourism.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n I do not include in the criteria that it must be unique to Sri Lanka as animals such as the Blue Whale which is our biggest positive international media story is widespread (although difficult to see elsewhere). Rarity is not a good criterion as rare animals cannot be shown easily to tourists. If rarity was a criteria there would be hundreds of rare rainforest animals jostling for a place on the list. The requirement for a reasonable strike rate means that rarities are excluded in the Big Five.<\/p>\n The requirement that it is a big animal means that the Spinner Dolphins which are much loved and desired does not make the list. Furthermore there are other places in the world where they can be viewed in large numbers. The buffalo is big but does not make the list because of doubts about its origins and also because it is not so desirable that people would want to travel to Sri Lanka to see it. But they would for all of the other animals on the Big Five list.<\/p>\n The Strike Rate<\/strong><\/p>\nOne of the most important criteria for big, desirable animals is the strike rate. There is limited tourism value in creating a brand association between an animal and a destination if visitors are not likely to see it.\u00a0 Let me run through my nominees for the Sri Lankan Big Five and explain why the island is one of the best, if not the best place in the world in which to see it.<\/p>\n Almost everyone in the world, dreams of seeing a Blue Whale. With Blue Whales we have now established that during the season the strike rate is over ninety per cent, off Mirissa. Nowhere else in the world can Blue Whales be seen in such numbers and with such ease.<\/p>\n For Sperm Whales, between Mirissa and Kalpitiya, the strike rate is good enough for marine wildlife tourism where visitors engage in multiple visits to sea. Given that Sri Lanka is one of the best places in which to see this animal and the other factors such as its popularity, it qualifies for the list. I believe Kalpitiya is the place in which to focus the search for Sperm Whales, based on the data during the firs quarter of 2010.<\/p>\n With the Leopard, I was the first to begin the mantra that Yala National Park in Sri Lanka is one of the best places in the world to see and photograph leopards and that five game drives offered a ninety per cent chance. This has been proven over the years. The leopards have also now become so habituated to vehicles that the strike rate is probably even better than what I quoted initially. At present, 3 game drives seem to offer a 95 per cent strike rate. Every year one or more sets of cubs perform for the cameras and it has now become almost too easy to photograph leopards. The re-opening of Wilpattu National Park will see another point of focus for leopards as the park is managed and the animals become habituated.<\/p>\n The Asian Elephant is found in 13 countries. But it is not an easy animal to see other than in Sri Lanka which is the best place in the world for seeing it. There is only one place in Asia where a visitor is guaranteed to see an elephant on a game drive. This is Uda Walwe National Park. Given how popular elephants are, it is surprising that we don’t brand Uda Walawe National Park more strongly enough as the best place in the world in which to see a wild Asian Elephant with a hundred per cent strike rate. In addition, Sri Lanka also has the spectacular Gathering of Elephants, a seasonal event in the Minneriya (and Kaudulla) National Parks. At times, I have observed 300 elephants gathered within a one kilometer quadrat. However, it is more likely that one may see between 100-200 elephants, from one vantage point, on a good viewing. There are possibly two places in Africa, where more elephants may gather together in times of drought. But The Gathering of Elephants in Minneriya (and Kaudulla) is the largest gathering of elephants which recurs, predictably each year, albeit seasonally. In short it is the largest recurring or seasonal gathering of elephants in the world which is can be offered as a tourism product.<\/p>\n Ironically it is easier to see a leopard in Yala than it is to see a Sloth Bear. But then again there is always an individual or mother Sloth Bear with cubs in any given year which is tolerant of vehicles and provides a reasonable chance of seeing a Sloth Bear to serious wildlife enthusiasts who undertake three to five game drives. When the Palu Trees begin to bear ripe fruit in June and July, bears can be seen on almost every game drive. Wasgomuwa National Park is believed to have the highest densities of Sloth Bear in Sri Lanka. However due to habituation, the nature of the terrain, the density of Palu Trees (a factor during the fruiting season) and other factors yet to be determined, Yala is the best place for viewing Sloth Bear. In fact it is the best place in the world for seeing the Sloth Bear. Wilpattu National Park, is the next best location for Sloth Bear although more data needs to be accumulated to gain an idea of strike rates.<\/p>\n The concept of a Big Five label has its advantages in appealing to a broader tourism market through the big tour operators who can feature a Sri Lanka’s Big Five tour. In parallel, I would like to see the branding for Sri Lanka as the Ultimate Island Safari. This enables the serious wildlife enthusiasts and photographers and writers who will travel with the smaller specialist tour operators to understand that Sri Lanka’s riches extend beyond the Big Five.<\/p>\n How Sri Lanka’s ranks for ease of viewing of ‘Sri Lanka’s Big Five’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSpecies<\/strong><\/td>\nWorld <\/strong><\/td>\nAsia<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Blue Whale<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sperm Whale<\/td>\n | Top 10<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Asian Elephant<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Leopard<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sloth Bear<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Strike Rates within Sri Lanka for ‘Sri Lanka’s Big Five’<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nSpecies<\/strong><\/td>\nStrike Rate for Game Drives\/Sailings<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| Blue Whale<\/td>\n | 90% during season off Mirissa<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sperm Whale<\/td>\n | Provisionally, between 1 in 3 & 1 in 5 from Kalpitiya during February & March. More data needs to be gathered to see if the rate is better and the span of the viewing window.<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Asian Elephant<\/td>\n | 100% in Uda Walawe and during The Gathering at Minneriya (and Kaudulla).<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Leopard<\/td>\n | 1 in 3 at Yala. There are periods when it is 1 in 2.<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Sloth Bear<\/td>\n | 1 in 5 in Yala. Improves to 1 in 3 during fruiting of Palu in June\/July.<\/p>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Acknowledgements<\/p>\n The many people who have helped me over the years are more fully acknowledged in the books I have written. In the specific context of this article I would like to thank Dr Charles Anderson and Dr Shyamala Ratnayeke for answering questions. I would also like to thank Chitral Jayathilake and Srilal Miththapala for supporting and in some cases taking the lead subsequently for some of the ideas I have introduced on positioning Sri Lanka for The Gathering, Leopard Safaris, Best for Blue Whale, Primate Safaris, etc. Sri Lanka’s rise to eminence for whale watching would not have taken place if Dr Charles Anderson had not shared his research insights with me giving me the opportunity to engage in field work and become the bridge between science and commerce.<\/p>\n This article was first published in the September 2010 issue of Hi Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\nSixteen page A4 publications on ‘Sri Lanka’s Big Five’, ‘Sri Lanka – Best for Big Game Safaris Outside Africa’ <\/strong>and ‘Sri Lanka – The Ultimate Island Safari’\u00a0<\/strong>are available to be donwloaded in our Publications<\/strong><\/a> page.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka is the best safari destination outside Africa and it makes sense to maintain a ‘symmetry of phrase’ as the large continent of Africa and the tiny island of Sri Lanka are Big Game safari counterparts. Outside Africa, no other country or continent can boast of five, big charismatic animals which also offer a … Continue reading “Sri Lanka’s Big Five Wildlife Tour”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2099,"parent":187,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-srilankawildlife.php","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1969","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWildlife Tours in Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka's Big Five<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sri Lanka\u2019s Big Five promoting safari wildlife tours in Sri Lanka is the best Big Game alternative next to the famously known African Big Five safari tours.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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<\/p>\n