Strawberry, also called Aria (Welmalkema 4:4 female, YF 32), is a well-known leopardess of Yala Block 1, first seen around Uraniya in May 2017. She is famous for being calm around jeeps, and in 2018–2019 she was the most seen and photographed leopard in the south of Block 1. A Wild Coast Lodge ranger wrote she was named for her sweet personality, while a 2022 article describes strawberry-shaped spots on her forehead. She was seen with her first cub in August 2021, three cubs in August 2022 (one survived to adulthood) and three more cubs in February 2024.
Sources
- Welmalkema 4:4 Female (2017) [YF 32/Aria or Strawberry] — Leopard Trails, Leopards of Yala
- Yala's Leopard Personalities (Part 1) — Resplendent Ceylon / Wild Coast Lodge, 14 Oct 2019
- Spot on! — The Sunday Times (Kumudini Hettiarachchi), 13 Mar 2022
- In the predator's spotted lair — Daily FT (Mallika Bhagat), 1 Jan 2022