The star attraction of the Yala National Park was recently the subject of interest for National Geographic. A group of cameramen from the National Geographic Channel flew to Sri Lanka at the height of the drought to capture unseen footage of leopard behaviour at night.
The project began mid July with the support of Yala Village, and the Nature Odyssey teams.
Special permission was sought from Wildlife authorities to commence shooting within the Yala National Park.
The crew was equipped with the world's most light sensitive cameras, jeeps were modified to ensure that the wildlife is not disturbed in their natural habitat; and the team of naturalists were handpicked for the occasion. The shooting of the cats commenced in the cover of darkness, with the aid of infra-red vision.
The jeeps were manoeuvred in total darkness and the engines halted when leopards were sighted. 47 adventurous days of filming commenced with its share of adrenaline rushes and thrills.
The HD cameras used by the crew captured high quality day time footage and the leopard behaviour at night was captured with the use of the world's most advanced starlight filming technology.
The crew captured footage of some fascinating leopard behaviour, including hunting, mating and paternal family life.
Three eight-week old leopard cubs were spotted in Rukwila by the crew at the end of the shooting which proved to be an ideal finale for the filming in Yala.
The British crew filming for Nat Geo Wild was grateful to the Nature Odyssey team, Yala Village and John Keells Hotels Group.