Sri Lanka among the wildest islands

The three-member crew from Off the Fence, UK, spent 17 days in Sri Lanka starting from the hills and covering the cloud forests at Horton Plains, filming Sambur deer in the mist along with spectacular scenery.

The next stop was Haggala Botanical Gardens where purple faced leaf monkeys were filmed along with rhino horned lizards and Sri Lanka pygmy lizards.

The crew accompanied by Nature Trails field naturalist Thilanka Ranathunga then travelled through Ella, towards the dry zone, as the filming focused on Bundala National Park for birds including coots and herons while at Yala National Park, it was the top carnivores in the island, its leopards and mugger crocodiles.

The last leg took the crew to Habarana. Based at the Cinnamon Lodge, ‘The Gathering’ was filmed at Minneriya National Park and troops of macaques at Polonaruwa among many ancient ruins.

Producer Evania Wright was keen to capture the countryside and the natural beauty of the island, filming traditional ‘Perahera’ processions and elephants being cared for by mahouts at Habarana.

The production made for Discovery Channel spans many islands of the world, including Vancouver Islands, Falkland Islands, Caribbean, Japan and Scotland, while the Sri Lankan leg has already been completed.

The Nature Trails team at John Keells Hotels Group was the ground handler for the project, which was a resounding success in terms of days spent and animal behaviour captured.