A haven for elephants

The lost, orphaned and injured are well taken care of at the Uda Walawe Elephant Transit Home

The largest land animal on the planet, the elephant, is loved and adored by many of us. However, during the recent past with the increase of the population, many elephants have lost their habitats ( living spaces) and food sources. Therefore, they come to villages looking for food.

This has created a conflict between humans and elephants. A large number of elephants and humans have died as a result. Some elephants, especially baby elephants lose their parents and become orphaned. We cannot let these little ones die. Keeping this tragic situation in mind, the Department of Wild Life Conservation initiated a pilot project in 1995 to take care of the elephants that are in need of help and later release them back into the wild when they are ready.

'Ath Athuru Sevana' or the 'Elephant Transit Home' was built on a 22-hecatare land with the sole objective of saving our endangered elephants.And do you know who the first resident of this transit home was? An elephant named 'Komali',found from Meegallawa, Galgamuwa.

Today there are 43 elephants between the ages of two months to five years at this home. Since the inception, around 73 orphaned, lost or injured elephants had been found from various parts of the country .

When such elephants are brought to the home, the transit home officials take good care of them before releasing them back into the wild. So, to date 73 elephants have found their new homes in the various wild life parks such as Udawalawa, Maduruoya and Lunugamwehera. Of these, the majority had been released to Udwalwawa National Park , as it is the closest and also has enough resources for the elephants to roam and grow up freely.

"We find orphaned baby elephants from all around the country. These elephants can be orphaned due to an injury or death to the mother or as a result of straying from their herd.

Some small elephants which get along with the buffaloes in the vicinity are in the habit of walking around with these buffalo herds ," said the veterinary surgeon at the Elephant Transit Home, Dr. Udaya Kumara.

"As soon as we find these elephants , we check whether they need any emergency medication. Thereafter we take good care of them until they are strong and old enough to live on their own ," he added.

According to Dr. Kumara adult elephants are fed milk every three hours and baby elephants every two hours. A veterinary surgeon and other officials work round the clock (24 hours a day) to take care of them.

"Sometime these little elephants behave like children .They fight with each other and injure themselves . Then we need to treat them and give them medication. They also suffer from stomachaches and phlegm problems just like human babies. Therefore, we need to be vigilant about them all the time," said the senior veterinary surgeon at the home, Dr. B. Vijitha Perera.

Even though they are big in size, their behaviour and needs are very similar to those of an infant. Someone has to keep an eye on them all the time. However, it is strictly prohibited for anyone to pet these little ones, unlike at the elephant orphanage at Pinnawela.

You may think it is strange or cruel to do so because these baby elephants are so cute nad lovable. But the authorities have a very good reason for doing this.'These elephants are not going to be at the Home for their entire life. They have to be released into the wild, so they need to get used to the life in the wild. “Therefore, we make sure that human contact is at a minimum. We never pet them," said Dr. Kumara.

Once these elephants reach the age of four or five years they are released to the wild. At this point, home officials fix a radio belt or collar with a transmitter, around the neck of the elephant.

By this the officials can identify the location of these elephants once they are back in the wild.They closely monitor the elephants released from the transit home for a period of three years. During this time, their behaviour and the way they adapt to the wild is observed.

"When we release these elephants to the wild, some of them tend to return to the home, and then we have no other option than relocating them to another national park," explained Dr. Kumara.

These giants pachyderms are maintained mainly by Government funds. However, people who love elephants can contribute to the well-being of these majestic animals, threatened with extinction today.

The Elephant Transit Home also has a 'foster parent' scheme. An organization or a person too can become a foster parent to anyone of these elephants.

These foster parents pay Rs. 25,000 per month to maintain an elephant. Musaeus College, Colombo is also the foster parent to an elephant named Kanthali at the home.

The Wild Life Conservation Project of the school holds various fund-raising campaigns to collect this amount.

The public, yes even you can contribute any amount as a general donation for the development of this one and only elephant transit home we have in Sri Lanka.

Living treasures of Udawalawe

After a four-hour drive from Colombo via Rathnapura, Pelmadulla and Udawalawe junction, you can reach the sixth largest animal sanctuary of Sri Lanka - the Udawalawe National Park. The park encloses an area of 30,821 hectares, and is bordered by the Southern and Uva provinces. When the Udawalawe reservoir was constructed, many animals lost their natural habitats. As a result, in 1972 this area was declared as a national park.
Another reason for Udawalawe to be considered for elephant reservation, was to ensure the availability of water, from the Udawalwe reservoir and Mau Ara basin, even in the driest periods. This park is a popular travel destination among locals as well as foreigners, and is open throughout the year.
Elephants are a common sight in Udawalawe. They can be observed at any time of the day. Rehabilitated elephants from the Elephant transit home are released primarily to the Park. Besides the elephants, recent investigations have recorded 21 species of fish, 12 species of amphibians, 18 species of snakes, 15 species of tetra pod reptiles, 184 species of birds and 39 species of mammals. "Excepting for bears almost all varieties of dry zone animals live here," a volunteer guard of the park, L.D. Mahesh said. There are many water buffaloes all around the park. Spotted and barking deer, jackal, wild boar, and grey and striped necked mongoose are some of the fascinating animals found in the park. It is said that leopards, jungle and fishing cats have been spotted; however, their sightings are very rare.
"The park is famous for birds as well," said Mahesh. "The numbers of bird varieties are almost equal to Kumana, a bird lover can find many birds here, " he added. The Crested serpent eagle, white-billed sea eagle, painted stork, Blue face Malkoha, Lanka Junglefowl, and warblers are some of the bird varieties seen at the park.
The vegetation of the park also plays an important role. Out of the recorded plant species, three are endemic and one is considered as threatened. The bio-diversity of the park is quite high, despite the much-degraded vegetation cover. There are pockets of natural Intermediate Zone forest, stripes of Riparian forests and some pockets where Natural Succession is advancing.
All these amount to significant biodiversity pockets. The main tree species found in the forest area are the Satin, Milla, Ebony and Ehala. Riverine forests dominated by Kumbuk & Mandora, Mana, Illuk, and Daminiya are found in grasslands and scrublands. At the time of the park declaration, there were many settlements inside the area concerned, and a major part of the Park was cleared for shifting cultivation. Most of the high forest was practically destroyed. What remained of the forest was the forest areas associated with Rock Knob Plains and shallow soil areas that were unsuitable for agriculture.
Other than going on a safari, visitors can also stay in one of the five bungalows or go camping at one of the four camping sites. At all these sites, a guide will be there for you to instruct on safety precautions, rules and regulations in the park. These bungalows and campsites can be booked through the Department of Wildlife Conservation head office.Visitors need to comply with some rules. As we all know, the Udawalawe National Park is home to many animals. These animals love to live in peace.
Keeping quiet and not using any musical instruments when you are in the park is definitely a superb practice. Using plastics and polythene is also prohibited. Something Very important is not to feed these animals. Whatever the rule is, many people feed the elephants who found along the Uda Walawe- Thanamalwila road. We counted 10elephants in a morning and seven elephants in an evening.
"These elephants stand near the electric fence all day. They hardly go into the jungle seeking for food," said Piyadasa, a villager. These elephants become very excited when any person walks towards them. "Despite the boards stating that elephants should not be fed, people still continue to feed these elephants, bananas and other fruits," he added.
However, we noticed that these boards were not visible from the road and some were even discoloured. When inquired from the Department, an officer said they would look into the matter. When people go on a safari, every vehicle is sent along with a tour guide who is trained by the Department. The guide knows all the rules and regulations that visitors need to abide by. "If a visitor spots a group which not obeying these rules if they are shouting or feeding the animals, they can make a complaint at the gate giving the vehicle number of the offending party.
Then the Department would restrict the vehicle from entering the park premises. The tour guide will also be penalised. If it is a department guide, he will face the penalty and a volunteer guide will lose his licence," an officer from the Department of Wildlife Conservation said. "One of the main problems we have is the buffaloes and bulls. There are so many inside the park. They eat greater part of the grasslands, leaving elephants in hunger," officer explained further. Another problem the department faces is wildfires. Sometimes these fires starts with a little cigarette butt or a matchstick destroying a huge area. Fire belts have been created to avoid such fires from spreading over to a greater portion of the park.
These are strips of lands where forest cover has been removed. In other words, what we use as roads are the fire belts. In addition, well-trained wildlife officers can successfully handle an emergency like this. As responsible citizens, we also have a duty. These are treasures of our country.
Therefore, it is necessary to comply with the rules of the Department. Let us protect the forest and animals for future generations!
 http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/03/06/fea50.asp