Month: February 2026 (Page 1 of 2)

Group C: Victoria, Vennila, Ciara

Started the day off with an early morning, leaving the Sunflower Hotel at around 5:30am. In three separate jeep-style vehicles we made our way to Yala National Park for a 6:30am safari starting at Katagamuwa gate. Along the extremely bumpy paths, our guides helped to point out many amazing wildlife, giving many of us our first look at many species in the wild (“lifers”). All groups got to see our first peeks at Sri Lankan Leopards Jerry and Lucas, who were asleep up trees by mid-morning. The first few Sri Lankan Elephants, the largest of the Asian Elephants, were spotted relatively early in the morning starting around 8:15am as well. These amazing animals were followed by a Sri Lankan Sloth Bear a rarer sighting, that crossed the road between a few of the vehicles, giving many of us an up-close view of the small bear. Between encounters of the “big three”, as many called the leopards, elephants, and sloth bears, we stopped for three species of brightly coloured bee-eaters (birds) positioned close and far from the vans, Water Buffalo and crocodiles wallowing in the muddy water, and Bengal Monitor lizards trying to catch as many rays as possible in the early morning sun. Peafowl were also a common sighting as we drove along enjoying the scenery, which included a large rock in the middle of the landscape aptly named Elephant Rock for its likeness to the creatures.  Throughout we caught glimpses of the many Spotted deer, Sambar deer, and Tufted Gray Monkeys (one eating from a bush) that also inhabit the park.

Just as the hottest part of the day began to roll around, we pulled into our rest-stop. The park closes between 12pm and 2pm, so this was the perfect time to have some cool drinks and our lunches from the canteen on location. The location was right on the water, and we had some free time to enjoy the view and the beach. There was also a small souvenir shop where we could pick up some of the essential Yala National Park merchandise to take home. Once 2:00pm came, we were back in our safari vehicles, ready for the second half of our day.

On our way out of the rest-stop, one of the guides spotted a large Brown Fish Owl, perched in the shade in a tree. We photographed it as it looked around lazily, seeming to judge our very existence. As one of the vehicles passed another large, but this time, very flat rock, and one of the guides informed the group that this rock was used for drying meat before the park was protected. In the last few hours, we managed another sighting of a sloth bear rubbing up against a tree, and then wandering into the trees, which caused some displeasure among some foreign guests in the jeeps behind us who didn’t get as clear of a sighting. We were able to see a pair of female elephants leading a baby elephant along the road, where one of three safari vehicles from our group experienced another up-close encounter before the elephants slipped into the trees. Our guides then tracked where the elephants were likely to go based on their path, and demonstrating their amazing understanding of the park, were correct. One elephant crossed the wetland through the water, while the other female went around with the baby, as it was too small to walk through the water. One guide gave the group even more detail, one of the females was the baby’s mother, while the other was a caretaker, which allows the mother to get enough food to feed the calf as it’s required 15 L of milk per day. Sri Lankan Elephant calves are born at 150-200 kg, so the amount of milk a baby would require is quite a bit more than your average human baby. After this final elephant sighting, we began our trek out of the park, only for our guides to get the call that one of the female leopards was awake and on the move a little way away. Our drivers got us there as hastily as possible where we luckily ended up at a prime location to watch “Lucas’ wife”, sitting on a bank and then saunter to a bush to lay back down. We sat there for quite a while, simply watching the majestic cat.

One of the trucks got an added bonus of spotting the infamous elephant, Gemunu, who is notorious for trying to steal food out of tourist vehicles. Another truck saw a tree full of Malabar Pied-Hornbills!

Despite our exhaustion, we gathered back at the hotel and ended the day with Group D’s debate on multinational treaties to reduce illegal trade.

Group B: Alexandria, Josh & Jade

We slept in. We packed up the buses and left Nuwara Eliya at 10AM. Travelling through many winding roads, most of us observed the beautiful landscape while others were once again made a little carsick by the winding mountain roads. Lunch was waiting for us in a touristy town called Ella, where lots of recognizable items were on the menu. Continuing our journey, we stopped at Ravana waterfall along the edge of the highway. The waterfall is named after a mythical King from a well-known Sri Lankan legend.

Our next stop was at the Buduruwagala Ancient archeological site carved in the 9^th century. Before entering the site, we were given lotus flowers which in Buddhist culture serves as a reminder of the impermanence of all things. This site features the two branches of Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana. The class was given a quick tour by the site guide. He shared with us that his family has being guiding in this spot for three generations. Buduruwagala means: Buddha images carved on stone. The carvings featured 7 Buddhas total, 3 on each side and the largest in the middle. He also showed us many images you could find created by the natural features of the rock such as a lion, the face of a women, and the rock its self is even in the shape of an elephant. Remnants of the white plaster and orange paint used to cover the granite remains. When we approached the buddha statue for the first time, we spread the petals of our lotus flowers and with a bow placed the flowers at an alter as an offering. As we left the site our guide showed us footprints left in the ground from a local elephant who roams the site. We ran into land and water monitors and took some time to observe and photograph Alexandrian Parakeets and an Indian Coocoos. Before hopping back on the bus some of us grabbed a refreshing soda or mango juice from the nearby restaurant.

Back on the road, this time on a much straighter and flat highway, we headed through Wellawaya. The bus abruptly stopped as there was a star tortoise crossing the highway. Dilini ran out to move it to the shoulder and we waited patiently for the tortoises’ head to pop back out to get a good picture.

After a hot day of travel, we arrived at the Sunflower hotel in Katharagama and were greeted with a refreshing glass of watermelon juice. Many curious monkeys climbed around in the trees surrounding a courtyard pool. After swimming in the pool and settling in we met for two more article presentations. In the hotel common room Alex Brandt and Ravindi Menikrama gave their article presentations. Alex discussed the conservation of wildlife diversity in Agroforestry. Ravindi discussed local endemism between the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

With dusk approaching on this day of travel, many bats become active outside. After trying water buffalo milk curd with honey for dessert, we headed to bed to prepare for our early safari morning.

Group A. Kirsten, Alex, Isabel

On February 23rd we started our day off nice and early at 4:30 am, with departure from the hotel at 5:15 am. We rose but I think we forgot to shine. The sky was dark and greeted us with a cool morning rain. With excitement for the day, we hoped into three vans as our typical buses would not suffice for our journey to Horton Plains national park. The majority of the ride was in darkness but the sun began to rise as we arrived at 6:30 am. The hotel staff were kind enough to pack us breakfast which we consumed before getting our tickets and bags checked. They don’t allow any plastic into the park except for plastic water bottles (as long as they have the label ripped off). Dilini explained to us that visitors tend to litter the labels throughout the park. I personally think that the no plastic rule should be adopted in our Canadian parks! We started our hike off at 7:30am and continued to mini worlds end. During our venture we were able to find 5 of the 8 species listed on the park information board. These included the Sri Lanka purple-faced langur, Rhinohorn lizard, Sri Lanka dull blue flycatcher, Sri Lanka yellow-eared bulbul and some of us were even lucky enough to spot the Sri Lanka whistling thrush among many other wonderful sightings. Also notably there were lots of pipits and we saw a pied buschat. When we got to mini worlds end we were in awe of the view that was presented before us. Valleys and hills full of lush vegetation, lakes and distant houses lit up the landscape. After snapping a few shots we all prepared to hike back to the buses. When driving out of the park we were greeted by a troop of toque macaques. Many of which were mothers carrying their young. Lunch was a mix of personal preferences prepared by Perera and Sons. Im not sure if it was the restaurant or the fact that we were very hungry but lunch tasted very good! Most of us enjoyed kottu, Mongolian rice or fried rice. With being just a short distance from the hotel we stopped at a cafe for some refreshments and continued on our return. The afternoon was filled with many insightful presentations. The first was a debate regarding debt for nature swaps and whether their effects are ecologically beneficial or simply greenwashing underlying concerns. Following this we listened to three seminars. We began with Meg who presented a seminar about how institutional pressures shape biodiversity management in Sri Lankan tea plantations, then Isabel who discussed the socioeconomics of biodiversity conservation in protected areas, and finally we ended with Josh who addressed the threats that oil-palm agriculture poses to biodiversity. After our academic evening we all rested and had a lovely dinner before heading up to pack our bags for our next journey!

Group E. Meg, Hannah Smith, Claire, Olin

Waking up to our last morning at the Runakanda Rainforest Conservation Centre certainly felt bittersweet. The clouds glided overhead, obscuring the sun’s rays as they dove down to the peaks and valleys of Sinharaja Rainforest below. As the mist slowly cleared, and sun finally broke through, we were all enamoured by our last bites of fresh fruit with today’s special juice – papaya. It feels sad to say goodbye to some of the best mango many of us have ever tasted, but Dilini has assured us that there will be more to come. We think (and hope) she is right. But for now, we say goodbye to the wonderful staff at the conservation center and embark on our next adventure!

Of course, a nearly seven-hour drive sounds dreadful, but watching a country with new sights and experiences around every corner whiz by is certainly one of travel’s most underrated pleasures. Peeking out, women in vibrant, floral skirts worked the tea fields, dog basked in the sun, and peacocks strutted through rice paddies alongside cattle egrets, the foothills and mountains rising on the horizon. Children, old friends, monks, and police walked along the narrow shoulder of the road as our busses did the weave through rural towns and big cities. Many of us drifted in and out of sleep, tuk-tuks and produce stands passing by as we made our way to the highlands.

Soon, the road began to steadily climb and weave. Where once ferns dominated the forest floor, grasses and shrubs began to sprout, rice gave way to tea, and finally, it seemed we were in the mountains. A stop for lunch next to a river where locals splashed and bathed in the water, and we continued make our way into the clouds. Finally reaching our destination, Bluefield Tea Plantation.

We met with our tour guide named Dahami, who told us fun facts about tea making, like how each day 150 workers who go out into the field have a quota of 20 kg of tea leaves, our buckets could hold a maximum of 2 kg…we weren’t even close. In our defense, we were picking in torrential downpour. She showed us how when picking, it needs to be the bud and two leaves, and they need to be lime green as the darker green leaves are bitter. We also learned that they grow leaves for black, green and white tea, but only process the black tea onsite. This is because green tea has machinery limitations and the local weather is not suitable for white tea.

Dahami then toured us around the factory, explaining the process tea leaves must go through to make the beverages Sri Lanka is famous for. The method of processing tea leaves has not changed much over that past several hundred years; there was even a leaf drying machine in operation that was almost 110 years old and came all the way from Belfast, Ireland!

After the tour, we got to finally try some English breakfast black tea, which enticed many of us to buy some boxes to bring back to friends and family (and ourselves) in Canada. After purchasing different types of tea, we ran back to our vans through the rain for the final 1-hour stretch of our journey to our hostel in Nuwara Eliya where we got settled in, ate a delicious dinner, and went to bed.

Group D: Aili, Vanessa and Andy

Today was a very special day for one of our peers, Induja turned 26!

To kick off his favorite birthday yet, we gathered at 7:45 a.m. for a bird lesson with Dr. Lougheed. We learned how to identify birds by looking at bill morphology, feet, plumage, color, vocalization, habitat, and behavior. After 30 minutes of lecture, we were ready for the birdathon.

Our team; Aili the spotter, Vanessa the tracker, and Andy the identifier. We found a great spot next to Dr. Lougheed’s cabin. There, we spotted three Sri Lanka green pigeon and a beautiful Indian paradise flycatcher, which was Vanessa’s favorite. After spending a couple of minutes admiring them, we moved on to look for more birds. While searching, we got distracted by a cool green lizard resting on top of a pink flower. Ten minutes later, we remembered it was a competition and that we were supposed to be focusing on a completely different taxon. Unfortunately, it was too late… spoiler alert, we lost.

At 9:30 a.m., after some rewarding birding around the grounds of the Runakanda Rainforest Conservation Centre(RRCC), our team gathered in the dining room for breakfast. Once the plates were cleared, we went around in order and shared the number of species each group identified, along with our three favorite findings. The birdathon winners were Group Alex, Kirsten, Izzy, and birthday boy Induja. Their favorite finding of the birdathon was the Oriental honey buzzard!

For the rest of the morning and afternoon, we sat in on seminar presentations and one debate. First, Ciara discussed the potential impacts of climate change on reptiles in the tropics, based on a meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. She highlighted potential impacts on embryonic development and physiology, including changes in precipitation, salinity, and temperature. Rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and altered precipitation patterns may negatively impact endemic reptile species in Sri Lanka, resulting in habitat loss, physiological heat stress, changes in embryonic development, and shifts in species distribution.

Sequentially, we continued our “seminarathon” with Jade, who presented on the importance of understanding how changes in land-use systems from smallholder farms to more commercial monocultures directly impact biodiversity in Southeast Asia.

Next, we heard from Alexandria, who discussed the vulnerability of endemic vertebrates in Sri Lanka due to climate change. From her talk, we learned that most species distributions in Sri Lanka will be affected by climate change, particularly reptiles, amphibians, and highland species. These groups are especially vulnerable to the “nowhere to go” hypothesis, which may lead to species loss.

Our final seminar speaker of the day was Victoria at 4:30 p.m. She brought us back to appreciate the study of biogeography and paleontology through an article from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). From Victoria, we learned that forest mosaics persisted across the region during the Last Glacial Maximum, and that transitions between vegetation types were smooth rather than abrupt.

At 6:45 p.m., we gathered for an insightful and heated debate from Group B: Josh, Alexandria, and Jade, who argued whether trophy hunting is an effective tool for conservation. This debate rocked worlds and changed minds; by the end, the polls had shifted!

Throughout the seminars and debate, we took tea, meal, stretch, and snake breaks. During our snake breaks, we had the incredible opportunity to see and hold a golden flying snake, observe a very venomous Russell’s viper, and see another beautiful venomous creature, the Indian cobra with our own eyes and, more importantly, our camera lenses. Don’t worry parents, we didn’t hold the venomous ones!

Before dinner, we gathered at the RRFCC for our final herping expedition in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve of the trip, and this time everyone was in attendance. No lorises and no leaf-nosed lizards, unfortunately 🙁 But we did see a Lesser yellow-banded caecilian (Ichthyophis pseudangularis). Caecilian fall within the Amphibian order Gymnophiona, one of the three extant amphibian groups – the others are Anura (frogs and toads) and Urodela (salamanders). Very cool to see and we found both adult (here) and juveniles.

But life is always good when you’re herping in Sri Lanka because we still saw so much cool stuff! Notably, we found a caecilian, a ton of green garden lizards, a ton of frogs, and a wolf snake.

To wrap up the day, we celebrated Induja’s 26th birthday, his best birthday yet with cake and a second joyful round of “Happy Birthday,” ending a long, exciting, academic heavy day.

Group C. Victoria, Ciara, Vennila

We started the day with the opportunity to see a Sri Lanka Bay owl, which was caught overnight by Sampath, Kalindu and Induja. We had some fresh Sri Lankan tea to fuel our early start (6:30am), before heading out to do some mist netting. We used different bird species sounds, played through a speaker, and also an owl call (as small birds do alarm calls and come close to the putative predator) to attract any birds towards the net. We caught a beautiful black-capped bulbul, which many of us got to hold. Afterwards, we headed back to the Runakanda Rain Forest Conservation Center for breakfast, where many of tried pineapple jam for the first time. Right after breakfast, we headed to the restoration site and climbed to the summit where the locals helped us to plant native trees. We had a very quick return to the centre to get changed, before we left once again for a much-needed swim at Maguru River. Our path to the swim site was rugged, with hiking across a river and over fallen trees, all while trying to avoid (unsuccesfully) the persistent land leeches. We split paths with Sampath and his colleagues when they found a Sri Lanka frogmouth nest, and went to set up a camera trap to monitor it for the months to come. Once we arrived to the river, we hopped in for a swim, and shortly after it started raining. The rain was very refreshing but left all of our stuff soaking wet!  On the way back, some of us got to see and smell cinnamon trees, then returned to the centre for lunch at 5:30pm. After lunch we got some time to rest (napping and working on our field books) until 7:15pm, then a group of us headed out (once again) for some evening herping in the Sinharaja rainforest after the rain. There were many amazing species spotted, including several species of shrub frogs, a green vine snake, a Sri Lanka kangaroo lizard, a Sri Lanka green pit viper, and a lyre head or hump-nosed lizard. We also got to see a red slender loris in its nest, apparently a very rare sight to see. Afterwards, we returned for the long-awaited dinner at 11pm, which was the traditional Sri Lankan dish, Kottu. That concluded our day, and we went to bed for a much-needed sleep after a long day of exploration.

Group B: Jade, Alexandria & Josh

Today, we are still recovering from jet lag! Some of us woke up very early between 4-5am and couldn’t fall back to sleep. Others had a rough time waking up. We had our last breakfast at the Morven Hotel consisting of delicious curry and pancakes. They offered instant coffee the taste of which some of us didn’t mind, but others preferred coffee straight from the coffee pot. So, Josh took one for the team and asked Steve if we could go out for coffee on the way to our first remote site in the rainforest! We packed up our things and hopped in the buses, mentally set for a 3-hour drive. We stopped at Java Lounge to fulfill Josh’s request and on the way, we picked up our Sri Lanka classmates and friends, Induja, RavinDi, and Kalindu from the University of Colombo. At Java Lounge, we ordered scrumptious frappes, iced coffees, fruit drinks, and more. Steve shared many travel stories! Before leaving the city, we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on snacks for the next few days. We were so excited to try some delicious Sri Lankan snacks! They had spicy peanuts, coconut wafers, and our class favourite, Tom Yum chips.

During our bus ride, many of us enjoyed the scenery outside. We saw the landscape change from urban to smaller communities to all rain forests. There were tea rubber and rice plantations at various different points throughout the ride, which we thought was very cool! Alex Brandt was lucky enough to see a male peacock showing his full, beautiful feathery display. Unfortunately, tight turns and ups and downs in the more remote areas near the end of the ride got some of us a little car sick. With a gravol and Pepto-Bismol, we eventually recovered and safely arrived at our site, the Runakanda Rain Forest Conservation Reserve in the Sinharaja rainforest! Upon arrival, we were stunned at the beauty of this site. Not only was the vegetation lush, but the lodge and sleeping accommodations were rustic and cozy, and a long, steep stone pathway lead us up towards the buildings. We realized during this climb that most of us would not have access to AC in our bedrooms, but only a select lucky few would have the luxury. So silly! The bedrooms don’t have full walls, meaning we get to experience the calming rainforest sounds and breeze as we sleep comfortably. The walls of the lodge are covered with images of the flora and fauna found in the surrounded rainforest. Building our excitement for the coming hikes and snorkeling trip.

After the kind Sri Lankan staff prepared lunch that included the best eggplant that we have ever had, we set off on a hike. We hopped in a pick-up truck and tuk tuk to travel 1 km to the site. Sampath introduced the history of the vegetation located on the hill and their efforts to remediate the rain forest corridors. He showed us newly planted saplings, and discussed native and invasive species, and the conservation in progress. Most interestingly, Sampath showed us a tree species that is otherwise extinct in the wild. On-going recovery efforts of this species includes taking tissue samples cultured from an individual in the Royal Botanical Garden in Sri Lanka. We are really pleased to the devotion for conservation to promote biodiversity! We heaved and hoed up the rest of the hill, trying our best to avoid leeches while rocking our fashionable leech socks. Sampath took us to a large rock that looked out upon the rain forest, which was such a special experience. We hustled back down the hill to avoid potential rain and to run away from the leeches. We came back to the lodge for teatime served with wraps of coconut, ginger, and cinnamon. As night settled, some of us went out to catch birds, while others remained behind to catch our breaths. Sampath and friends brought back a Sri Lanka frogmouth. This elusive animal was so cool and so pretty, and to add on to the awe-inspiring catch it was a male! For his research, Sampath and his students demonstrated routine measurements, blood sampling, and handling methods. Most of us held the bird for a quick moment, and finally he was set free to enjoy his life in the wild. To end the day, we are relaxing, showering, and getting ready for tomorrow!

Group A. Isabel, Alex and Kirsten

Starting off our first full day in Sri Lanka, we landed at 3:50am in the Colombo airport. We all managed to get through immigration, then collected our luggage and boarded our last form of transportation before arriving at the hotel (Morven Hotel Colombo). Little did we know, the long awaited rest was insufficient for the day that was to follow. After just 3 hours of sleep, we began our day with breakfast at the hotel. Many of us tried our first hopper (thin, bowl-shaped chick-pea flour pancake with an egg fried on the inside). We then hit the road at 11am and made our way to the University of Colombo, where we were greeted by Dr. Seneviratne, who is Dilini’s former undergraduate supervisor. He then gave us a tour of the zoological museum where we saw many skeletal exhibits including a whale that was under preparation and a variety of preserved specimens. Following this we took a walk around the university exploring the faculty of arts and the faculty of science. During this time, we observed several bird species and were able to identify them. The white-throated kingfisher posed perfectly for a picture! We gathered in a lecture hall to listen to Dr. Lougheed’s insights regarding new tools for monitoring impacts of Arctic climate on polar bears and other charismatic megafauna using non-invasive genomics-based fecal analyses. After the talk, we took the bus to Diyasaru Park to birdwatch in the wetlands. There were many stellar species that we were able to spot on our walk. These included the Grey-Headed Swamphen, Indian Darter, White-Bellied Drongo, Pheasant-Tailed Jacana and the Giant Flying Foxes, to name a few. After this long day we were all exhausted and ready to get back to the hotel, with several members of our group taking a lovely nap on the bus. Upon arrival, we had time to rest and then ate dinner at 7:30. We ended the day at the Treehouse rooftop bar, sharing drinks and laughs with newly made friends.

And we are off. We assembled at Pearson Terminal 3 around 3-4PM, with some folks having challenges because the UP Express was impeded. But we were able to get out boarding passes, and pass through security without issue. We departed around 8PM local time for an approximately 12 hour flight, arriving in Doha at ~3:30 local time for a quick layover of a few hours. Security was quick and we settled in for some coffees and-the refreshments. We departed for Colombo at 7:30 local time for an approximately 4 hour flight.