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Elephants hold a sacred spot in Sri Lankan legend, art, and heritage. In ancient times all elephants were property of the King. They stamped the ground for roads and building construction. Elephant sculptures adorn many religious monuments. In Sri Lanka today all elephants are protected by law and 2500 remain in the wild. However, habitat destruction dwindles their numbers. It takes 5 sq km to feed and provide for a wild elephant. The land currently set aside for wildlife is enough for 1600 elephants and so overcrowding has become a major problem. Farmers struggle to defend crops and occasionally kill (and are killed by) elephants. | |||
Near
Sri Lanka's geographical center elephants live at an orphanage. Tourists can visit
the orphanage and watch elephants play, bathe, and feed. | |||
The little ones are curious
about visitors. | |||
Elephant
parade. We were almost run over when these guys stampeded because an overly imaginative
elephant trumpeted alarm and set off a false panic. | |||