In February 2020 after the Wuhan coronavirus changed my plans for my week half-term I decided to head back to Kaeng Krachan National Park. Knowing how dry the conditions were I decided to forget reptiles on this short trip and focus on mammals. In particular I wanted to find Asian elephants myself without being guided to them. I was very fortunate to have some memorable encounters with no other photographers or tourists around. However on two occasions large elephants got a bit too close and this involved making a quick retreat! I focussed mainly on driving likely roads and some waiting at water holes for thirsty mammals coming for a drink because of the drought.
Other highlight species seen were a King cobra, actually the only live snake I saw but without photos as it quickly disappeared into dense forest when it saw me. But the ultimate highlight was seeing a Black leopard one afternoon and being able to watch it from a distance for around 10 minutes.
