Magical Encounters in Sinharaja
View from Sinhagala Peak, Sinharaja
At the end of 2009 I enjoyed four packed days of walking, wildlife encounters and starry nights in Sri Lanka’s incomparable rainforest, Sinharaja. As this blog bears testimony to I have visited the forest at least once or twice every year that we have been here. It continues to provide me with interesting things to photograph and learn about and there is no better classroom for OSC’s students of ecology. This trip was an early Christmas gift from my wife Raina and children Lenny and Amy. I was joined by my colleague and friend Jonathan Smith, who had a similar arrangement from his family. We used the four days to do some serious walking to familiar places as well as the more distant Sinhagala peak (742 m). This peak sits amidst the heart of Sinharaja’s least disturbed lowland rainforest. The walk there and back takes 5-6 hours but it is a pure delight as you go deeper into the forest’s interiors. There were no other hikers, though signs of elephants made our guide Ratnasiri jittery for parts of the trail. Along the way there were numerous living treasures to observe and photograph. The summit (actually a rock face) view with about 250 degrees of rainforest canopy, is worth all the sweat and large numbers of leaches that await visitors.
On our last day we hiked up Moulawella peak (760 m) in the dark and witnessed the birth of a new day from its boulder summit. The views north towards Sri Pada were particularly impressive. Its temple lights glowed in the inky darkness amidst the glitter of celestial bodies. Below us the forest awoke in a cacophony of delightful sounds. I clearly heard the sound of a whistling, similar to that of the Malabar Whistling Thrush that I know well from the Western Ghats. I couldn’t help wondering if it was the elusive Arrenga or Sri Lankan Whistling Thrush (Myophonus blighi) that is found at higher altitudes in the Central Highlands.
- Forest scenes from the Sinhagala trail, Sinharaja
Green Pit Viper (Trimeresurus trigonocephalus) collage, Sinharaja
With fours days in the forest we did quite well with endemic wildlife sightings. Two Green Pit Vipers (Trimeresurus trigonocephalus) were an early highlight. They were very cooperative with us while we fiddled with lenses and flashes and I set up the cumbersome Hasselblad with extension tubes. We encountered many of the endemics birds that Sinharaja is so well known for. SL Blue Magpies (Urocissa ornata) are becoming very habituated to people at the research center and of course Martin has a special relationship with them at his place (they arrive regularly every morning before breakfast). We had a good view of a sleeping Ceylon Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), which I haven’t seen in 10 years! Finally two research scientists with Colombo University shared a rare Red Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus) that they had caught and were measuring for taxonomical reasons before releasing it back into the forest.
Map showing Sinharaja and the Rakwana or Sabaragamuwa mountains
Endemic birds from our visit (SL Blue Magpie, SL Frogmouth, Red-Faced Malkoha, SL Jungle Fowl), Sinharaja
We left Sinharaja appreciating the work of past generations of Sri Lankan conservationists who saved the forest from ending up in wood pulp. It is a story i of successful grassroots activism and persistence from concerned citizens and scientists. Perhaps most reassuring is the impressive forest recovery that has happened in areas that were once clear-felled by the logging operation. It has been so effective such that most visitors are unaware of what a disaster it could have been.
Evening light on the rainforest near the western entrance, Sinharaja
Red Slender Loris (Loris tardigradus), Sinharaja
View north to Sri Pada from Moulawella peak, Sinharaja
Sri Pada with the Class of 2011 Environmental Systems & Societies Class
Sri Pada's eastern face set amidst the sub-montane forest of Peak Wilderness.
Every winter just before the first school semester draws to a close I have the privilege of taking my grade 11 IB Environmental Systems & Societies class for a three-day field trip to the Peak Wilderness Sanctuary in Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands. The aim of the trip is to expose students to natural as well as human-impacted ecosystems in the Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) area. Much time is spent getting there and back but it remains a key learning experience for our students. We spend most of our time looking at issues of vertical zonation in sub-montane and montane (cloud) forest. We mapped our track and are now working on a GIS generated map of the area’s vegetation (along with contour lines etc.). I have the students focus on plants but we also take note of birds, reptiles and amphibians that we come across. The trip is designed for exposure rather than hard data gathering (something that they will do in Sinharaja in May). As usual we stayed at the Maskeliya Estate Fishing Hut bungalow. It offers few creature comforts but is an ideal site for a field study and is set on the boundary between the vast tea estate and undisturbed montane forest.
This year I took eleven enthusiastic students, many who had been in my grade 10 Geography class which did a field trip to Horton Plains National Park. Of the three Sri Lankan students none had been to this sacred mountain before! Our second day was spent climbing up slowly through the montane and then cloud forest to the summit of Sri Pada (2,243 m). I had a unique and unusual experience of meeting a Buddhist monk from Chittagong (Bangladesh) on the way up. We enjoyed a lengthy discussion in Bangla as we completed the last steps and arrived at the temple mid day! These pictures (all digital) were taken on the trip.
Actinodaphane speciosa ('elephant ear) on the trail to Sri Pada
Sub-montane forest near the Fishing Hut (@1400 meters)
With the class above Maskeliya . Kirigalpotha, Sri Lanka's 2nd highest peak located in Horton Plains National Park is the pyramid on the distant horizon.
Maskeliya Lake looking east towards Horton Plains National Park. The waterfalls is "Adam's Peak Falls" although it does not actually originate on the peak!
Phyllium bioculatum
Thanks to my OSC colleague Haris Dharmasiri we are once again raising leaf insects at home. The eggs in my batch started hatching out in late November and these pictures were taken in the first few days of their life cycle with natural light. As per their dietary preferences they are feeding on guava (Psidium guajava) leaves.
Phyllium bioculatum (under side)
Hypnale hypnale at home
Hump nosed viper (Hypnale hypnale) in a Colombo suburb.
The Hump Nosed Pit Viper (Hypnale hypnale) (Sinhalese polon thelissa, Tamil Kopi viriyan) is a small, venomous snake found in woodlands across the island. This one was found in our neighbor’s house and has spent a few weeks with us in November as a family pet. I released it into the next-door lot after photographing in various lighting conditions. There are two other Hypnale species found in Sri Lanka, but these are quite a bit harder to find.
Hump nosed viper (Hypnale hypnale) whole body.
Hump nosed viper (Hypnale hypnale) close.
What We Found On The Walk Home From School…
Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii), Pelawatte, Sri Lanka
Raina and I came across some lethal local wildlife on our walk home from work last week. The unfortunate snake is a Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii) or polonga in Sinhalese. Farmers clearing grass on the road beside a large paddy area had just come across it and killed it. We passed by a few moments later. When I shared these photos with colleagues at school they caused much interest and a good deal of anxiety about our local biodiversity. One of our friends lives meters away from where the snake was killed and was not amused.
Russell’s vipers are important predators of rats and other rodents and are frequently found near human habitation in South and South East Asia. They have lethal venom and are one of the “Big Four” snakes most responsible for human mortality in South Asia. They don’t seek trouble but people may inadvertently step on them (mainly at night) and thus they are thought to be responsible for more deaths than any other snake species on the island! Further references can be found in Snakes and Other Reptiles of Sri Lanka by Indraneil Das and Anslem De Silva as well as the herp bible for South Asia: Snakes of India: The Field Guide by Romulus Whitaker and Ashok Captain.
Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii) (close) Pelawatte, Sri Lanka
Black, White and Color in Tamil Nadu’s Sacred Spaces
Decent of the Ganga/Arjuna’s Penance Panel, Mamallapuram (Noblex with Kodak T-Max film)(July 2009)
The natural landscapes and the complex relationships and features of South Asia’s ecology have motivated much of my photo-documentation and writing. Yet I have a deep running fascination with the architecture, temples and old buildings that dot the subcontinent. Some of this tricked down through my grandparents and parents who visited and wrote about these sites in the early and late 20th Century. My uncle, Dr. Michael Lockwood, has been passionate about the Mamallapuram temple complex since the 1960s when he took up work as a professor of philosophy at Madras Christian College. There are no better guides to the temples than his little book: Mamallapuram: A guide to the Monuments. On a recent family trip I rediscovered the allure of these 7th Century Pallava temples. I found the same ambiance and tranquility when I spent time in Thanjavur and Madurai’s Meenakshi temple. The following images are a few highlights taken with a digital camera and with my trusty Noblex 120 panoramic camera.
A riot of color and imagery on the south gopuram of Madurai's Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple (July 2009)
Potamarai Kulam (Tank of Golden Lotuses) in Madurai’s Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple (Noblex with Kodak T-Max film)(July 2009)
Brihadishwara temple, Thanjavur (Noblex image with Konica Infrared film) (December 2001)
Thirumalai Nayak Palace, Madurai (Digital)(July 2009)
Lenny Under Krishna’s Butterball, Mamallapuram (Digital)(July 2009)
Decent of the Ganga/Arjuna’s Penance Panel, Mamallapuram (Digital)(July 2009)
Bombay Shola: Fragile Heritage
Frontline (the news magazine from the reputable Hindu newspaper based in Chennai) has just published my article and pictures on the ecology, threats and restoration potential of Kodaikanal’s Bombay Shola. Thanks to their liberal policy of publishing on the web you can read the article online or as a PDF (as part of the whole issue). For reference, it is worthwhile referring to my 2003 Frontline piece on the idea of a formal protected area for the Palni Hills.
Recent Work
Anoechtochilus elatus, a small ground orchid (Blackburn Shola, Palni Hills). Rana_Temporalis or Bronzed Frog (Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, Wayanad). Strobilanthes sp. (Vattacanal Conservation Trust, Palni Hills). Pill millipede (Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, Wayanad).
Monsoon Deluge in Bangitapal and Wayanad
Bob and Tanya negotiating a flooded road in the grasslands of Mukurthi National Park in the Nilgiri Hills
This year India experienced an abnormally erratic monsoon season. While a deficit of rain was reported from many parts of the subcontinent, northern Kerala was drenched in a deluge in early July. I had a chance to enjoy experiencing the full rigor, and power of the South West monsoon during a short visit to the Nilgiris and Wayanad with my friends Bob & Tanya from the Vattakanal Conservation Trust. On our fleeting visit to the Nilgiri Hills we visited the remote area of Bangitappal in Mukurthi National Park. Given the difficulty in securing permission we felt fortunate to be granted the single night at the rest house. However, the relentless monsoon showers, which came in at 360°, severely limited what we could do. Later we drove up through Mudumalai, Bandipur and then Nagarhole to visit our friends at the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Wayanad. The journey proved to be quite an adventure with knocked-out roads, raging streams, muddy landslips, a circuitous deviation and finally a submerged road to navigate in a rescue boat. The rewards of communion with friends and the tranquility of Gurukula, albeit in pounding rain, were well worth it.
Impatines clavicornia at Bangitapal, Nilgiri Hills
Shola canopy amidst pouring rain on the way to Bangitapal.
Baby python (Python molurus) that had been run over at the foot of the Masinigudi ghat road, Nilgiri Hills.
Camera curiosity amongst Paniya tribals at the flooded road near Gurukula.
Rescue boat ferrying commuters across flooded road on the way out from Gurukula.
Up Close and Personal with Trimeresurus macrolepis
Large Scaled Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis), Palni Hills
As a student we rarely encountered snakes on the hikes and adventures we took out into the Palni Hills almost every weekend. Despite having been exposed to Rom Whitaker’s wisdom and love for snakes at an early age I was not one of the adventurous ones picking up and investigated the few snakes that we did find. My friends, father and I had an unforgettable experience with a pit-viper near Kukaal Cave soon after we graduated from KIS in 1988. My pictures of it were ruined when I slipped, dunked my Olympus camera in a pool and barely missed breaking my leg when a boulder came tumbling in after me.
It was only as an adult working at the Mahindra United World College of India near Pune that I became fascinated with reptiles and amphibians. They shared the campus with us and we encountered numerous species frequently. Necessity intervened and I found myself assisting faculty members and students in catching and rescuing snakes that had found the way into school housing and classrooms. As I’ve sought to widen my documentation of the Western Ghats I’ve been looking for opportunities to photograph endemic amphibians and reptiles.
This summer, with five weeks in southern India, I was especially keen to find and photograph a few Western Ghats endemics snakes with my new medium format close-up equipment. I’ve been on the lookout for the Large Scaled Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis) for the past three-rive years and what a thrill it was when one of the VCT members found a beautiful specimen near the shola nurseries at Pillar Rocks! It became our family pet for the next several days, while I photographed it under different conditions. As with the other close-up work I used a Hasselblad mounted with a 120 mm Makro Planar (+ 55 extension tubes), mostly with Kodak T-max 100 film. I used a strobe for a few of the images though I still aspire to Ashok Captain-like lighting! The color was shot on a digital camera (D-200) using a 105 mm macro lens. My father, Merrick, played a key role in all of this. He’s a genius- Merrick took apart and rebuilt the extension tubes when they jammed the Hasse in June. When we started catching shieldtails (Uropeltis sp.) in the garden he crafted a very useful aluminum snake stick for bigger finds. During the various shoots he assisted with holding various props and keeping the very curious kids at bay!
Just before we returned to Colombo, Merrick, the kids and I took a hike with our snake to Gundattu Shola. We found it a home in a bed of nettle set aside a stream. In the future I’d like to visit the nearby Highwavys to attempt to track down the highly elusive Tropidolaemus huttoni first discovered by Angus Hutton1948 but not seen since.
Large Scaled Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis), collage, Palni Hills
