Newsletter Febrauary 2024
“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home” – Gary Snyder
Dear Friends of Just Nature Expeditions,
As always it is a pleasure to reach out to the community we love most, our fellow travellers. A new year has come upon us and with this, we have launched a calendar of journeys designed just for you. But let us first talk about the year that was 2023. Our experiences took us from the high mountains of the trans-Himalayas in search of the grey ghost of the mountains to the sunny coast of Sri Lanka to seek the largest mammal in the world, the blue whale. We journeyed with like-minded enthusiasts to the most ancient rainforest on our planet in search of the only great ape found in Asia, the orangutan. We travelled to the far reaches of the Brazilian Pantanal to find giant megafauna like jaguars, capybaras, giant river otters and more that are best seen in what is the largest wetland in the world. These are just the highlights, and there were many more experiences and species to see in every one of our journeys and destinations. And now on to 2024, let us see what the new year brings for us.
CALENDAR 2024
The time between we last wrote to you and now has been very eventful. Our journeys led us to
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Snow Leopard Expedition Spiti 20-29th March 2024
The Red Panda Expedition 26 March 2024
Brown Bear Expedition 22 October 2023
Borneo Expedition Spiti 20-29th March 2024
The Great Migration 15 August 2024
Jaguars of Pantanal 22 October 2023
SPECIES OF THE QUARTER
Snow Leopard
The Snow Leopard, locally known as Shan, is one of the rarest large cat species found anywhere in the world. It is so difficult to see largely because of the tough and rugged terrain it is found in. It is a large cat species primarily found in the high mountain ranges of Central and South Asia and it is an endangered species as listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Snow leopards have evolved to live in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Their thick white-grey coat spotted with large black rosettes blends in perfectly with Asia’s steep and rocky, high mountains. Because of their incredible natural camouflage, rendering them almost invisible in their surroundings, snow leopards are often referred to as the “ghost of the mountains.” Snow leopards play a key role as a top predator, an indicator of the health of their high-altitude habitat, and, increasingly, an important indicator of the impacts of climate change on mountain environments. If snow leopards thrive, so will countless other species and the largest freshwater reservoirs on the planet. In India, Snow Leopards are best seen in the trans-Himalayan regions of Ladakh and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. Just Nature Expeditions has annual tours to both of these locations since 2017 and to date we have seen a snow leopard on each one of our tours. We travel again this March to see the elusive cat, and fingers crossed that the sighting spree will continue. To know more click here.
WHAT GUESTS HAD TO SAY
Nonita Lall Qureshi, Delhi, India
“Just back from my 5th trip with Just nature expeditions, and they have all been Superb. This time we were a group of 10 individuals travelling to Sri Lanka and we had the time of our lives, ably led by Erwin from Reni Pani who was awarded naturalist of the year at the TOFT awards, and Suchitra Hettiarachi from Jetwings in Sri Lanka who was an excellent naturalist and keen birder too. Wilpattu National park is an absolute gem about three hours’ drive from Colombo airport. It is a very scenic wetland area with large grassy meadows that support large elephant herds and some solitary tuskers, and big natural lakes that are called Willus, and is how the park gets its name. These are interspersed with tracts of quite densely wooded tracts that provide great ambush opportunities for the ultimate predator in Sri Lanka the leopard. We saw a total of 8 different leopards in 3 days but the highlight was a sighting that lasted for two and a half hours as we followed a mother and her sub adult cub down the road as she marked and patrolled her territory while her cub playfully ambushed her along the way. Amazing photographic opportunities for Raptors and Hornbills at eye level perches that were a real treat. The resort we stayed at was a hidden gem too, As we were able to do a night walk during which we spotted Mouse deer and three slender Grey Loris which was an added bonus. Then on to Mirissa for some Whale watching and chill time, the Blue whales disappointed by not showing up but a solitary Bryde’s whale more than made up for that. Plenty of bottle nosed dolphins and spinner dolphins hunting Yellow Fin Tuna were a treat to watch and some very large Jelly fish too. Our last evening, we visited the fort at Galle for a lovely sunset and stroll through the fort followed by a lovely dinner at the Lighthouse hotel, the perfect end to a fabulous trip that finished much too soon. A big shout out to Just Nature Expeditions who did a fabulous job as always in curating this trip for us.’