As Sri Lanka marks Sri Lanka Leopard Day on 1 August, this article forms part of a special series by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), bringing together the voices of scientists, researchers and conservationists to highlight the many challenges facing the country’s only big cat. Through evidence-based perspectives, the series aims to foster greater public understanding and inspire the collective action needed across research, policy, law enforcement, habitat protection and community engagement to secure a future for Sri Lanka’s iconic leopard
In the early 2000s I worked with the teams at Jetwing Hotels and Jetwing Eco Holidays to convince the tourism industry that Sri Lanka could market itself as a destination for leopard safaris. The situation now has reached the other extreme, with the issue of overcrowding in Yala and the scramble to show a leopard having been a problem for over a decade. Sri Lanka has no shortage of bright and capable people who know what needs to be done. But there seems to be little progress in implementing good solutions. One factor could be concern from the hundreds of safari vehicle drivers to maintain the status quo of not having limits on the number of vehicles entering the park. But there are practical solutions which can maintain the current levels of employment of safari drivers whilst improving the experience for wildlife and for visitors and for improving the country’s brand image. In this article I will consider solutions that will produce a better outcome for all stakeholders.
Overcrowding at Yala
But first of all, let’s remind ourselves that the over-crowding at a park like Yala is bad on three levels. It is bad for the wildlife, bad for visitors and bad for the reputation of the country and for its institutions. At present, up to several hundred vehicles can enter the park and there can be an ill-tempered traffic jam at a leopard sighting. There is a physical risk to animals. Certainly, there are stories of animals being struck by speeding vehicles, although thankfully very infrequently. It is also physically dangerous to visitors in safari vehicles. It is also a deeply unpleasant experience to many visitors and many responsible tour operators have told me they no longer encourage a visit to Yala. Ultimately this will be bad for the local safari drivers. It is also bad for the country’s reputation as it lends the appearance of a country that cannot manage its tourism experience in a way that is good for both visitors and the wildlife.
There are two broad approaches to dealing with this. Firstly, mitigating the adverse visitor experience of too many vehicles by managing how vehicles are distributed. I know a blanket reduction in the overall number will be met with resistance, and I will explain alternatives. Secondly, turning the emphasis away from pursuing a leopard sighting and instead making it more about experiencing Yala as a park. Although I reference Yala here, everything I say here could be applied to any other national park or reserve.
A few months ago, in March 2026, I visited Bandhavgarh and Panna National Parks in India. Many Sri Lankans are familiar with how in India the number of safari vehicles per gate is limited. At the time of my visit, for the two gates we used to enter Bandhavgarh during our visit, there was a limit of around 35 vehicles per gate. In Sri Lanka, such a blunt solution will not work because it may create serious anger amongst the local safari vehicle drivers who will suffer a significant loss of work and employment. I suggest solutions that could continue to allow the same number of vehicles as present, but reduce the adverse impact on the park and the visitor experience.
Two approaches
Of the two approaches I recommend, the first to manage the distribution of vehicles, has two strands. Firstly, the entire Yala Protected Area Complex of around 1,500 square kilometres has to be managed as a cohesive unit with many more points of entry and exit and allowing vehicles entering from one gate to leave through another. This alone will spread out the vehicles and make the park feel less crowded. Secondly, there should be a system of numbered routes with differential pricing and with different numbers of vehicles allowed on each route. This can be done in such a way that there is no blanket reduction in the total number of vehicles which will make it more acceptable to the local safari driver community. Numbered routes with individual vehicle limits can provide a better experience for those willing to pay for it. The numbered routes can be designed in a democratic way such that they all have a fairly similar likelihood of coming across a charismatic species such as a leopard, elephant or sloth bear. We need to avoid criticisms that only the rich get to see the iconic species. But what is different now is that you pay for the quality of the experience as each route will permit a different number of vehicles. This is no different to everyday life as a customer.
The second broad approach is to shift the emphasis away from pursuing leopards using a variety of methods. A key method would be to create a modern visitor centre which is an integral part of the Yala experience. In fact, the visitor centre should be as strong a draw as going on a game drive for some people. A strategy of shifting the focus away from leopards will also require developing game drives for purposes other than going in search of charismatic animals.
Let me go into some detail and start with the numbered routes with differential pricing which is part of the first approach. Of course, Sri Lankans and resident visa holders would be entitled to a local rate. But for the sake of illustrating the key points with a simple example, let me conjure up some arbitrary numbers using only foreign rates. Let’s say Route 1 allows an unlimited number of vehicles a day with an entrance ticket priced at $25. Someone on a low budget will find this suits them. But it’s not just about affordability. Even a very wealthy person whose interest may be in seeing the flora or the bird life could elect for Route 1. After all, why pay more for exclusivity if you don’t want it. Route 2 may allow only say 35 vehicles and will be $75 per person. Route 3 may be $150 per person and allow only 10 vehicles. This means those who can afford to pay for routes 2 and 3 have the luxury of a quieter route and are less likely to find themselves at a leopard sighting where tens of vehicles are jostling for space. There could be a further educational safari route which fits in with the second approach of making Yala a place which is not only about seeing leopards. More on this below.
The second approach is to shift the emphasis away from leopards and other iconic species. For this, both indoor spaces and outdoor spaces need to be developed for tourists to enjoy on a visit. Developing outdoor spaces can employ a range of education experiences. One option will be to be able to drive into the park, but into a relatively tiny educational block, say a small area of 5 km by 5 km (i.e. 25 square kilometres). Access to this area can be priced very low, with an entrance ticket of say just $10. The purpose of this area is to be used for educational tours, of short duration. The drive-in tours could vary in focus from an introduction to the wider ecology of the park, to bird watching, to following a tree trail in a vehicle. These drive-in education tours could be of short duration, typically around an hour.
In addition to the drive-in short educational experience, there can be guided walking tours for similar purposes, such as watching birds, butterflies, dragonflies and plant life. For reasons of safety, there could be a designated area of say 5 to 10 acres which is surrounded by a strong mesh fence to keep out animals like buffalos and wild pigs with a further outer ring of an electric fence to keep out elephants. The enclosed area could be artificially enriched for wildlife by planting fruit trees for birds and mammals, larval host plants and nectar plants for butterflies and the creation of ponds for fish, amphibians and dragonflies. There could be shaded areas and benches for visitors to sit and enjoy the surroundings. These outdoor spaces and experiences need to be complemented by developing indoor spaces with food and drink and museum exhibits similar to what one would experience in any city in a developed country.
For example, visitors could arrive and start at an auditorium for a screening of one or more short education films, walk through an interactive exhibition space which will educate them on a number of natural history topics (including for example the ecology of leopards and the threats facing them), then go on an outdoor guided walk which they have pre-booked and finally enjoy the dining spaces. The dining spaces can encompass multiple cafes and restaurants suiting different budgets. A bold and visionary development would be to create a café experience where some people would be content to sit on a terrace enjoying a good cup of coffee and a snack, taking in a lovely view overlooking a water body and while away a bit of time on their phones using wifi. With good design, an experience can be created where people are content to spend a few hours enjoying the café and indoor experiences followed by a guided walk or short safari. The real measure of the success of this will be if some visitors chose to enjoy the indoor and outdoor spaces at the visitor centre without even going on a safari drive.
In fact, a short guided excursion, in the drive-in area ($10 in this example), or a guided walk in the enclosed area, may be a more enjoyable experience rather than a long and tiring game drive spent in pursuit of a leopard sighting.
Of course, there can be a mix and match. Some tour operators may bring tourists in for lunch to the visitor centre, spend an hour in the centre with the film screening and the exhibits, go on a guided walk and then go for a safari drive on one of the routes designated for game drives. To avoid ambiguity, the ticket prices I refer to by way of example, are only the entry fees levied by the park. Visitors will have to pay on top for the guides and vehicles, which vary with the quality of the service.
As the entrance ticket costs are borne by the visitors, the safari vehicle drivers can still make the same amount of money for the vehicle hire, irrespective of whether the visitors may now cover less distance on a game drive. Therefore, they are more profitable. A key element of the shifting the focus away from leopards is that there will need to be skilled guides.
Even the safari routes can be managed in a way to take the focus away from the pursuit of charismatic mammals. There could be a few large hides where up to a hundred people can alight from vehicles and go inside for watching birds and other mammals. Trained naturalist guides can be stationed in these hides to provide interpretation for visitors. The waterholes and hides can be constructed such that the birds and the mammals which are less shy will be coming to the water at close range. Some of the ‘hide guides’ can even be equipped with telescopes to provide stunning views of birds that have come to the water. Small clay pots filled with water can be placed close to the hide for enhanced views of birds and small mammals who come to bathe or drink.
Inside the park there could be designated picnic sites with clean toilets and running water, picnic tables and benches for visitors to relax. There could be viewpoints and points where people spend time to take their Instagram pictures. People relaxing in these picnic spots or large hides will reduce the number of vehicles that are dashing around at speed looking for a leopard. Needless to say, the park will need to implement a robust plan for litter collection, several times a day not only to keep the place clean and tidy, but to avoid animals foraging on discarded food.
Well, all of this is easier said than done and a lot of time and effort will need to be invested in training and developing the facilities to make Yala a more holistic tourist experience than merely a tiring and dusty pursuit of leopards. There are many examples from all over the world including nearer to home in Asia in countries like Singapore, from which we can learn on how to elevate the visitor experience. As they say, if there is a will there’s a way.