Why Conserve the Sri Lankan Elephant?

This is the third part of a five part series of articles from Mr. Srilal Miththapala an wildlife and nature enthusiast who has spent 20 year on researching and building community awareness about the Sri Lankan Wild Elephant and the Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka. For more information about Mr Miththapala please visit his website: http://srilankaelephant.com/.

Of the late there has been rejuvenated interest in elephant conservation, as evident from the many regular news reports and articles appearing in the daily newspapers, sadly more about elephant deaths, than any other news. There seems to be a growing momentum of awareness and concern regarding the need to protect the Sri Lankan Elephant. Having had a great interest and love for this wonderful animal, I have been trying to do my little bit towards creating awareness about elephant conservation. To this end, I have been speaking to as many interested forums as possible, enlightening them on elephant conservation, and also about the behaviour and life of elephants in general. Most of my interactions have been with the schools, because I believe that the young people of today are far more responsible, conscious and concerned about the environment. The future lies in their hands.

I was amazed at the response and interest shown by these young people, and the question and answer sessions at the end of each presentation are always lively and interesting, and never was there an attitude of hate towards the elephant. The only question was how could they help mitigate the situation – to which a ready answer was sometimes difficult.

However, there is always a nagging question in some people’s mind, as to real use of having elephants roaming in the wild. While most concede that the elephant is a indeed a unique animal, they cannot come to terms as to why so much time and money should be spent in protecting and conserving them.

Photo: Srilal Miththapala

Elephants in war

It is a well known fact that elephants were used by man for wars as early as 500 B.C. Marco Polo tells of Kubali Khan, the Moghul emperor riding into battle on elephants, while the Carthaginian general Hannibal’s exploits in North Africa against the Romans is well known, as is the famous military deployments of elephants when Alexander the Great fought his battles in Persia and India.

The annals of Sri Lankan history indicate that our ancient kings used elephants extensively for war, work, ceremonies and religious activities.

There are rich stories about the bravery and courage of Sri Lankan elephants used in wars, which have been passed down to us. Who has not heard of the exploits of King Dutugamunu’s ( 161-137 BC; The comprehensive history of Sri Lanka- Yogasundaram ) brave elephant Kandula and his exploits.

A highly trained, well armoured elephant, directed by an expert mahout, was a very formidable weapon, an armoured tank of the ancient world. Although the spectacle of these sensitive and intelligent giants amidst a melee of humans, with arrows and spears, stuck all over, crushing soldiers under its feet, charging around, trampling all and sunder in blind anguish, may not be very palatable, it was the order of the day, in battles of the past.

Interestingly more Asian elephants (Sri lankan and Indian) were used in these wars, and not African species. This was apparently because the Asian species was said to be more resilient and aggressive than its African counterpart.

An adventurous Sri Lankan resident in Tanzania, has proved this in some ways correct, from his recent experiences of training and domesticating African elephants. The Sri Lankan mahouts, who were taken to Tanzania to train the elephants have reported that training the African elephants was apparently much easier than the Sri Lankan elephants (Uthum Corea 1998).

Elephants and Religion

From the religious perspective, the elephant is very much a part and parcel in Buddhism and the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha in his teachings often used the elephant as a metaphor to emphasize his words. (“Let one live alone and do wrongs, care-free like an elephant in the forest”-The Dhammapada )

The elephant figures prominently in the story of the birth of the Buddha where one day some 2,500 years ago, in Kapilavastu, in the foot of the Himalayas, “The Bodhisattva, in the form of a white elephant, descended…. from the direction of the North. In his trunk, which was like a silver rope, he held a white lotus. He entered. Made a circle three times around Queen Maya’s bed, smote her right side, and appeared to enter her womb. The queen’s womb took the appearance of a crystal casket. She retired to the forest to meditate and there under the sal tree she gave birth to a boy looking like the sun.”- The Mahavasaya

It has always been the most majestic elephant, (having certain specific characteristics) which has carried the sacred relics of the Buddha in peraheras since ancient times, escorted by number of other gaily decorated elephants. The Kandy perahera is world famous for it’s gaily caparisoned elephants.

The Elephant God Ganesh, is one of the best known gods in Hinduism, and is the God of intelligence and hence the patron of students and teachers. Hindu mythology has it that Ganesh, in trying to protect his mother Parvati, lost his head in a battle with one of Shiva’s demons. Parvati ordered Shiva to restore life to her son, and the first head that was available, that of an elephant, was replaced on Ganesh’s torso.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the elephant has always enjoyed a quasi-religious status in the long-standing Buddhist and Hindu traditions of our country (Rudran et al 1995).

Photo: Srilal Miththapala

Elephants in Folklore and Culture

Elephants feature prominently in the Ramayanaya, Mahabharata and Jataka stories, important chronicles in Sri Lankan cultural folklore and history. Because of its very close ties with Sri Lankan tradition and religion especially in the past, there is a plethora of myths and folklore surrounding the elephant.

There is said to be ten different castes of elephants with the Chandana kule being the highest. It is only an elephant of the highest caste that is chosen to carry the tooth relic of the Buddha in procession in the perahara. Centuries old palm leaf manuscripts set out in detail the nerve centers or nila of the animal, which, when goaded, elicits different behaviourial responses. Numerous concoctions and methodology is known, which is said to change the behaviour as required (To subdue an elephant apply a preparation made by grinding the kernels of kuburu seeds with cow’s urine to a spot 3 inches below the eye; stab the top of the trunk when there is an eclipse of the moon and the elephant will die – Deraniyagala 1955). The tail hairs of an elephant, removed before they come into contact wit
h the ground, and worn around the wrist is said to bring good luck. Walking under the belly of an elephant also brings health and well being. In fact, owning an elephant of a higher caste is in itself considered to bring good luck to the owner. Even in many of the traditional dance forms of Sri Lanka, the influence of the elephant is evident (The Gajaga Vannama).

Even today, elephants are still used as beasts of burden in Sri Lanka and several other parts of Asia. They are employed to carry logs, haul loads in remote areas where mechanized force cannot be applied, and even to carry tourists in national parks.

The value of the elephant is not only what it can carry and pull, but also where it can go. It is a very sure footed animal and coupled with it’s intelligence, is very safe under the most trying circumstances and terrain. “If you are to form any idea of it’s docility, and strength, or how all those wonderful joints are adapted to it’s work. This colossus in no rough specimen of nature’s handiwork, but a creature of special amiability and sagacity, designed for the service of man” (Henri Mouhot 1860).

With the rising popularity of the elephant, as a war machine firstly, and then as a work machine, man realized the potential to exploit this resource. Records indicate that as early as in 6 B.C, elephants were an important export commodity of our country, where thousands of elephants had been captured and exported by the early 1900’s (Marshall 1846). A large number were taken from the wild for local domestication as well, and the actual numbers involved, can never be established.

Therefore, it is quite evident that the people of Sri Lanka, and Asia in general have had a very long association with elephants dating back to more than 2,000 years, in the areas of culture, tradition, war, work and religion.

In today’s hectic roller coaster ride towards rapid development, advancement and change, it is very important not to lose sight of our values and roots to our past. Whilst certainly looking forward and embracing the expanding and exciting horizons of the new age, our future should be built on the foundations of the rich and proud heritage of our forefathers. Tradition, religious beliefs, and culture are the bedrock on which values and our roots are anchored. The rich mythology and folklore helps nurture and protect these values.

Photo: Rakkhitha Miththapala

The elephant is very much a part of Sri Lankan culture, tradition and religion. Rightly it still enjoys a deep and widespread cultural and emotional attachment to the people of this land. (Desai 1998). Therefore, if not for any other reason, but for this alone, should not there be a very sincere effort made to save this animal? The sheer size of the elephant (3,000 to 5,000 kilograms) the world’s largest living land mammal, simply overwhelms us humans. They are animals that display an amazing level of intelligence, and are capable of huge power, and also surprising compassion.

Environment Protection

Humans have always been inspired, intrigued, awed and beguiled by this wonderful and usual animal with it’s elongated proboscis, ‘tree trunk’ legs, and enormous fan like ears. It’s gentle and placid, nature conjures some form of affection and emotional effect on even the most die-hard pragmatics. Whatever one’s outlook may be towards environment and wildlife , it is now an accepted fact that the human race has wreaked enough havoc on our environment, and that there is a very urgent and serious need to protect it in the future. Biodiversity is a very important component in environment protection and active efforts are currently being made in Sri Lanka in the field of biodiversity protection.

It is important to note that Sri Lanka has a greater biodiversity per unit area than any other country in Asia. This island of ours, harbours over 7,100 different species of flora and 1,350 species of fauna. Of these, about 35% of the lichens, 18% of ferns, 20% of beetles, 27% of fish, 51% of amphibians, 50% of reptiles and 14% of mammals found in the island are endemic to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is one of 11 areas in the tropics identified by the Committee of Research Priorities in Tropical Biology, as demanding special attention because of its high levels of biological diversity, endemism and its vulnerability to habitat destruction (IUCN 1991).

Flagship Species

It has already been pointed out the Sri Lankan elephant enjoys a deep and widespread cultural and emotional attachment with its people. It has become a symbol of national pride and acceptance, and therefore, the elephant has become a true representative of the struggle for environment and biodiversity conservation in Sri Lanka. Due to its very real and large presence, it can be considered the true ‘flagship species’ for all conservation activities in Sri Lanka.

Using the elephant as a flagship species and exploiting the associated socio cultural components can pave the way, not just for elephant conservation, but for conservation of the entire biodiversity of the island (Desai 1998).

Umbrella Species

Due to it’s sheer size the elephant needs to eat a colossal amount of vegetation (some 250 kilograms per day) and drink large quantities of water (150 liters per day). It also required vast expanses of forest for ranging to maintain its complex social organization and breeding pattern. In fact everything pertaining to the elephant is by extension large!

Therefore, any positive effort towards elephant conservation will automatically ensure the conservation of other species that co-exist in the same habitat, which has resulted in the elephant being accepted as ‘umbrella species’.

Keystone Species

The elephant is a mega herbivore, which plays a pivotal role in the entire eco system. Such mega-herbivore species are capable of shaping or modifying their environment and are therefore called the Keystone species (Soshani 1992). Elephants can transform entire tracks of jungle by cleaning and felling trees, create water holes by digging for water during periods of drought, and dispersal of seeds over large areas through their dung. These Keystone species, have such an impact on the environment, that their demise will have great consequences on the entire ecosystem they exist in.

Photo: Srilal Miththapala

Elephants and Man

Elephants and their life history are in many ways inextricably linked in varied and familiar ways to humans. In fact there are some surprising similarities between elephants and man as follows:

It is known that elephants have a complex social life based around the family unit led by a senior mature female and her close relations.
Several of these family units combine and re-combine periodically to form larger units, clans and populations
An elephant calf is born after a long gestation period of about 22 months and remains closely attached to its mother, until sexual maturity at the age of about 10 to 14 years.
This allows for a long learning period and transfer of
experience until the offspring is in their ‘teens’.
Males are driven out of the herd on reaching maturity, and spend the rest of their lives away from the herd, interacting with females of other family units for mating only.
Females are fertile and reproduce up to about 50 years, but still continue to remain and play an important role as senior citizens in elephant society.
Elephants and humans have one of the longest life spans among mammals, of around 70 years.
Both humans and elephants have similar walking and running speeds, with a top speed of around 25 km per hour
Elephants have no natural predator in the wild (except man!)
Elephants and man have similar types of disease, such as cardiovascular and dental problems and arthritis

Populations and distribution

There are two main species of elephants in the world, the African elephant (Africana loxodonta) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), with two distinct sub species in the African variety and 3 sub species of Asian elephants. The sub species of the Asian elephant are the Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus), the mainland (Indian) sub species (Elephas maximus indicus) and the Sumatran sub species (Elephas maximus sumatranus). It is estimated that there are around 600,000 African elephants in the wild exclusively distributed in the African continent. On the other hand, in 13 countries of Asia, there are some 44,000 Asian elephants in the wild. Of these Asian elephants, the Sri Lankan sub species is confined only to the island of Sri Lanka and some 3,000 to 3,500 animals roam the forests of Sri Lanka (IUCN 1993). However, some researchers estimate that the number in the wild is in the order of 4,000-4,500 or even more.

Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) & Mitigation

Past solutions have ranged from elephant drives, (driving elephants into the confined National Parks), building electric fences to keep elephants within the confined areas, providing corridors for elephants to cross from one wildlife park to another, and translocation. Most of these have had met with limited success and some with disastrous consequences (such as the infamous elephant drive into Lunugamwehera). Sri Lankan elephants show high fidelity to their ranges, but territoriality is not prevalent. ( Dr Prithiviraj Fernando; Dr Eric Wikramanayake et. al 2007). It has been found that elephants do not carve out new home ranges when driven into parks and are confined by electric fences. They tend to habitat the area in and around the fence possibly looking for an opportunity to get across to their original home range. Ranging instinct is passed down from generation to generation in elephant families and they will always endeavour to return to their familiar home range. This possibly gives rise to the myth that the ‘elephant never forgets’

Photo: Srilal Miththapala

Sri Lanka has less than 2% of the overall forest cover available in the entire Asia region for the Asian elephants. But Sri Lanka accounts for more than 10% Asian elephant population. This means Sri Lanka is carrying a population of elephants far in excess to its available forest cover. Forest cover is a much debated statistic, depending on how you classify it. Currently Sri Lanka has 14% of forests under the protection of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) and 4% of forest under the jurisdiction of Forest Department (Ref. Department of Census and Statistics).

It has been found that Sri Lankan elephants have fairly large and varied home ranges ( 34-234 sq. km) with males having a larger range than females and herds. ( Dr Prithiviraj Fernando 2000) Hence, it is no surprise that this large population of elephants in this small country will come into conflict with humans. It is estimated that of the entire population of elephants, only about 40%-50% reside within the protected areas and wildlife parks. The balance population live in the buffer zones and other areas mostly in, an around the parks. On the average, about 3 elephants a week die (mainly killed by man) while on the average about 4 people are killed each month, on the average, by elephants (Vanishing Pachyderms: Daily Mirror 27^th August 07). On the average 100 people die each month in Sri Lanka of snake bites! ( Anslem Silva 2005)

With Sri Lanka’s forest being degraded so rapidly, original elephant habitat is now being encroached upon for development, and elephants are forced to share this habitat with the rapidly increasing human population and settlements. Mitigating the HEC is not an easy task. On the one hand, there are the demands of a developing nation, while at the same time, more elephants tend to populate the areas outside national parks, and come into conflict with man.

The first issue to be addressed is the economic losses felt by farmers, whose crop is raided by elephants. A faster mechanism to cut through the bureaucracy of providing economic relief through the government channels must be put in place. The faster the aggrieved party gets money as compensation, the faster the anger will abate. The entire compensation scheme, including, the quantum of relief, provided needs to be reviewed.

As regards the management of elephants, there is a radically new concept being proposed by some Sri Lankan scientists of trying to manage the elephants outside the park boundary in the buffer zones. These buffer zones are predominantly chena (slash / burn type) cultivation , which is excellent elephant habitat. Could there be a way of educating farmers to manage these chenas in such a manner that they could co-exist with the migrating elephant population in these areas? “We suggest that areas managed according to traditional land use practices should be part of an elephant conservation strategy, where people and elephants have to share resources” Dr Prithiviraj Fernando; Dr Devaka Weerakoon; Dr Eric Wickramanayake et. al 2005.

Proper choice of crops (which do not attract elephants), adjusting the farming cycle to take into consideration the migratory times and pattern of the elephant movements are some these new ideas. There should be some subsidy given to the farmers to sell such produce at higher prices, to compensate for the loss in their traditional farming methods which bring in higher income. After all in ancient times there is record of how villagers co-existed with wild elephants quite well, because agricultural practices and systems were different at that time. Tourism also can play a major role in working with such village settlements, utilizing these areas for tourists to see elephants, and also for hotels possibly to buy the produce from such settlements, guaranteeing them an income.

Conclusion

I hope that I have been able to convince the most die hard pragmatics, that Sri Lanka needs to conserve and protect its wild elephant population. However, it is a fact that we are perhaps carrying a higher population than the country can manage, and clearly capturing some wild elephants, especially those who are causing problems, to boost the depleting captive stock may have to be also considered. There is no doubt that previous efforts to confine elephants into specific areas and translocation has met with failure.

More exciting and possibly a workable solution, is the management of the areas outside the national parks to allow for Human Elephant Co-existence, instead of Human Elephant Conflict.

1st Article by Mr Srilal Miththapala : The Pinnawela Baby elephant ‘Abduction’

2nd Article by Mr Srilal Miththapala : The Gathering of Elephants

4rd Article by Mr Srilal Miththapala : Possible solutions to another ‘Elephantine’ problem

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