Uditha Hedige, a tsunami survivor, was eating breakfast at his hotel near Yala National Park in Sri Lanka when he noticed unusual bird activity and water levels in the nearby lagoon rising.

Gehan De Silva Wijeyeratne is the CEO of an adventure and ecotravel company. He is also a self-professed naturalist, geographer, writer, and tourism personality for Sri Lanka. After the tsunami, he spent four days working with search teams looking for survivors and bodies.

Ravi Corea is the founder and president of the Sri Lanka Preservation Society. On the evening following the tsunami, he surveyed Sri Lanka's southern coast to assess the damage to the vegetation and animals.

K. David worked as a wildlife tracker for Sri Lanka's Department of Wildlife for 30 years. He was near Yala National Park when the tsunami hit.

Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, one of Asia's most celebrated wildlife preserves, contains one of the world's largest concentrations of leopards.