Yala National Park is quite famous among safari-goers who love to see the majestic leopards. Since many of the leopards in Yala are familiar with safari jeeps, they are roaming around the park without any fear of humans. There are several popular leopards in Yala who are totally habituated to safari jeeps. As YM16 – Lucas is famous as the king of Yala National Park, YF32 – Strawberry is famous as the queen of the park. Both of them are highly popular and they are the most treasured and sought-after sights among visitors.
Definitely, Strawberry tops the list of most popular female leopards in Yala National Park. She got this name because of her sweet personality. Due to her photogenic actions, she has become one of the most photographed leopards in Yala. On a safari trip, you might be able to catch sight of Strawberry. Since she has become familiarized with visitors, she won’t shy away from safari jeeps. She will look and continue on her journey, giving you plenty of opportunities to catch some iconic photographs.
In this post, we are going to show you some interesting snaps and details of Strawberry, queen in Yala National Park. Let’s have a glimpse of the life story of this exceptional leopardess.
Early Life
Strawberry was born in 2017, as the daughter of YF31 – Anna. Her mother was a rarely seen leopardess in Yala, who lived deep inside the jungle. Given the fact her mom was such a shy and reclusive character, it is quite surprising to think how Strawberry become so habituated to humans. Actually, her behavior is the complete opposite of her mother’s.
Baby Strawberry was first seen around the Uraniya area in May 2017. Then her mother took her to the Welmalkema area. According to the reports, Strawberry had a difficult childhood. She was abandoned by her mother at a tender age. Somehow, she managed to survive in the wild with her brave personality and hunting skills. Since she lived her childhood away from the limelight of photographers, it is difficult to find her photographs as a cub.
The below picture shows the earliest available photograph of Strawberry, taken in December 2017. At that time, she was less than 1 year old but showed a great personality. She had no fear of humans, nor intimidated by safari jeeps. With her photogenic poses and graceful movements, she easily became a sensation in Yala National Park.
Currently, Strawberry is a grown-up leopardess, around 5 years old. Without a doubt, she must be living with the trauma of abandonment and growing up without the love and care of her mother. Indeed Strawberry is a courageous leopardess who needs much appreciation for her brave effort and struggle to grow up alone. Hats off to this fighter and survivor!
Becoming the Queen
Strawberry caught the media attention in 2018 when she was only 1 year old. Wildlife photographers could see she was totally different from other female leopards. Rather than displaying shy characteristics, she loved to roam in safari tracks and mingle with humans. She had very cool behavior towards safari jeeps and visitors. Moreover, she had photogenic poses and always camera-ready actions.
Her popularity increased day by day, converting her into a superstar in Yala National Park. Thus, Strawberry is the most observed and most photographed female leopard since 2018. She is always tolerant of photographers. It’s quite difficult to see she is getting angry. By the way, if you like to see the angry face of the queen, this is it!
The Territory of the Queen
Queen Strawberry lives in the South of Yala block 1 in the area called as Welmalkema. Originally, this area was her mother’s territory. After the death of her mom, Strawberry acquired this area and is often seen roaming around the same area. Since the Welmalkema area is rocky and not the easiest place to get to, it wasn’t visited by too many people. But the grand appearance of Strawberry made this area quite popular among safari-goers, who like to catch a glimpse of the queen of the Yala National Park.
First Litter in 2021
Strawberry was observed with her first litter in 2021. Her first baby is a female cub calls as YF64 – Sansa. We could see she loved her daughter very much and they were inseparable since the birth of her lovely cub. She continued to make sightings with Sansa in her territory in late 2021 and early 2022.
Strawberry and Sansa were often observed together by wildlife photographers. Hence there are many beautiful snaps of the mother and daughter are available. The following picture shows Strawberry with grown-up Sansa, taken in November 2021.
Currently, Sansa is a quite pretty leopardess, who is living herself alone. She has inherited her mom’s superb genes of beauty. Thus, she has an exactly similar appearance to her beautiful mother. Without a doubt, she is going to become a legendary leopardess, proving the saying like mother, like daughter!
Second Litter in 2022
Strawberry was again observed with her second litter in August 2022. Currently, she is raising 3 beautiful kids, 2 male, and 1 female cub. These adorable cubs who are as pretty as their mother has become a famous sensation in Yala National Park. All the safari-goers in Yala are so keen to have a glimpse of these beautiful cubs.
Nicknamed as the best mother in Yala, Strawberry is quite busy and her hands are full with these three little cuties. She was observed trying to teach her kids survival skills from a young age. She’s taking them around, showing the basic skills need to survive in the wild. Although they are giving a hard time to her, she is a quite patient mom and gives extreme protection to them.
Definitely, it is not easy to deal with three kids at the same time. The below picture shows this great mother walking in the jungle setting the pace and the cubs following her. She will teach them everything about the jungle and let them go with confidence when she decides it’s the right time.
It’s amazing to see these three little cuties growing up. Although they are only a few months old now, the cubs are highly popular among visitors. As same as their mother, the cubs are photogenic and so adorable. The appearance of mom and cubs in one place is an incredible encounter you can enjoy in Yala National Park.
Relationship with Jennie
In December 2019, wildlife photographers observed quite amazing scenery. Usually, leopards are loaners that always roam alone in the jungle. Two adult males or two adult females hanging together is a rare scenery. But the queen Strawberry is totally different. She has girlfriends with whom she loves to go out for a fun. Her best friend is YF2 – Jennie.
Born in 2014, Jennie is much older than Strawberry. But they seem to have a great friendship and enjoy their leisure time together. She was seen sharing the same territory and living together with Jennie. Their friendship continued for weeks. It was observed the two were very friendly and interactive. This is one of the unbelievable leopard observations in the magical Yala National Park.
The Mysterious Life of Strawberry
There are several mysteries in Strawberry’s life. She was first observed and photographed with baby Sansa in April 2021 and with her second litter of three cubs, in August 2022. Usually, leopard moms raise the kids around 18 -24 months, before letting them go and live alone. According to these observations, there is only one year gap between her two litters. This is quite an interesting phenomenon of her having a less time gap between successive litters. It is far beyond our comprehension, compared to the general understanding we have about overall leopard behavior.
Other than her super-fertility, the love life of Strawberry remains totally mysterious. She wasn’t observed with any particular males throughout history. In 2020, Strawberry and Jennie were observed hanging out together with YM43 -Steve boy. But nobody knows what kind of relationship they have. After that, she wasn’t observed with any male partners and it seems she likes to keep her love life away from media attention.
To sum up, Yala is the best place in the world to see gorgeous leopards. You may easily spot them while drinking water or just hanging around on tree branches. Among them, the queen Strawberry is one of the legendary leopardess and a treasured sight in the Park. With her adorable poses, there is no wonder you are going to love this pretty leopardess. Welcome guys, visit Sri Lanka and meet our beautiful queen Strawberry in Yala National Park!
Source yalaleoparddiary.com. Banner image from Viraj Weerasooriya Photography. Image credits have shown below each picture. All copyrights are reserved by the original authors.
