Sri Lanka ... by Night

Following the popularity and success of our ‘Borneo by Night’ tours, we are now pleased to offer you the chance to see the lesser-known, nocturnal species of Sri Lanka. Amongst these will be the island's four cat species — the elusive Rusty-spotted Cat and Fishing Cat, and the more regularly encountered Jungle Cat and Leopard. Whilst the latter two species may also be seen during daylight hours, we will need to venture out in the dead of night to search for such seldom-seen nocturnal mammals as the Grey Slender Loris and endemic Red Slender Loris. On these nocturnal forays we will also hope to see Small Indian Civet and Sri Lanka's two endemic mouse-deer species, the Yellow-striped and Sri Lanka Spotted Chevrotain. Perhaps the distinctive movements of the Indian Gerbil will attract our attention, or a rustling amongst overhead palm leaves betray the presence of a Common Palm Civet.

We will need to maintain the utmost silence if we are to locate the elusive and critically-endangered Indian Pangolin, which shares its home with the Asian Elephant, Wild Boar, Black-naped Hare, Eurasian Otter, Rusty-spotted Cat, Jungle Cat and Fishing Cat, all of which we hope to see. In this silence we will be searching for sounds ... a call, a rustle or the crack of a branch — tell-tale indicators of another exciting nocturnal treat. Sleeping birds will be encountered aplenty, but it will be the night-time hunters of the avian world that, with the mammals, most excite us. A Brown Fish Owl or Brown Wood Owl perhaps? Maybe a Collared Scops Owl or, if we are extremely lucky, the bizarre, even comical, Spot-bellied Eagle Owl.

As we move further into the highlands, our target species will include the Indian Giant Flying Squirrel, Golden Palm Civet, Dusky-striped Squirrel, Layard’s Striped Squirrel and Sambar Deer. Many of Sri Lanka's mammals, such as Purple-faced Langur, Giant Grizzled Squirrel and Golden Palm Civet, are represented by a baffling variety of subspecies and different colour morphs on account of geographical segmentation — wet zone, dry zone and highland forms being most prominent. We shall hope to spot and differentiate most of these varieties as we cover a wide range of altitudes and travel from the dry zone to the wet zone.

We will not, though, spend all our time in the dark. The Leopard, for example, may be seen early in the day, and on daytime safaris in Udawalawe and Lunugamvehera National Parks we will look for Sloth Bear, Asian Elephant, Muntjac, Spotted Deer, Golden Jackal, Tufted Grey Langur, Toque Macaque, Purple-faced Langur, Grizzled Giant Squirrel and the three mongoose species — Indian Grey, Ruddy and Stripe-necked Mongoose. We will also enjoy many of Sri Lanka's colourful bird species, especially during the periods when the mammals of our quest are less obliging.