Elephant Man Good To Go Zip
Tanja Freeze
There are some camps that only offer the opportunity to feed elephants, however, the diet of an elephant is extremely important. If the default is sugarcane, bananas, and pineapple, there are repercussions of such a high-sugar diet. This factors into the welfare of the elephant, so while a place may exclude riding, but offer feeding, it needs to offer the right type of food.
This is a paid article written in partnership with the Sri Lankan Tourism Board with products or services supplied by them. Full editorial integrity is maintained at all times. The views and opinions expressed are entirely the authors own based on personal experiences when travelling and are honest and factual without any bias.
It is hardly surprising then that Sri Lanka is famous for its wildlife tourism, and chief aong that is its elephant safaris. With a mixture of stunning national parks and an abundance of these amazing animals in their natural habitat, travellers will keep coming from far and wide for a chance to see these sometimes elusive yet always majestic creatures up close.
On one hand Sri Lanka is ideally placed to lead the charge in positive wildlife tourism, and it is one of those places where the tourism industry can have a truly positive impact both to the animals and their habitat conservation and to the economy and the lives of the locals who work within that industry. From what I have seen so far, a great deal of the wildlife tourism industry in Sri Lanka is in very general terms very positive, a fact perhaps helped by the predominantly Buddhist beliefs and positive attitudes toward animals throughout the country.
Unfortunately not all of it is perfect, and with some aspects of the tourism industry sliding toward irresponsible practices in the universal quest for the tourist dollar and perhaps a little bit of a lack of education in best practice on the part of tour operators thrown in, Sri Lanka needs to be careful that it does not sacrifice animal welfare and conservation in the name of profit.
Two very different elephant safaris in two separate national parks showcased the extremes of good and bad wildlife tourism in the country, and highlighted the fact that when it comes to conservation and animal welfare, no one can rest on their laurels.
Meeting at the rather run down jetty where we were meeting our guide, the lack of touristy infrastructure here was actually pleasantly comforting. This is an industry that was just getting on its feet here, and has the potential to develop in the right way.
The first clue was the boat itself, moored off a rocky part of the shoreline and not a developed jetty with souvenir stalls and drink stands, this was a solid, working vessel, not a god awful cruise ship that holds hundreds of selfie stick weilding tourists.
We were the only vessel out on the water at the time as a previous group had just returned from their own safari, and the ranger explained that they do not allow too many groups to be out at the same time. It felt like absolute paradise as we were quite literally the only people encroaching on this majestic, almost alien environment.
Time seemed to slow to a standstill as we chugged along the water, passing the haunting branches of submerged trees. The boats engine kept on a low idle so as not to make too much noise and everyone on the boat kept a careful eye out for any form of wildlife as we passed a whole variety of tiny islands and larger land masses.
Eventually one of the guides spotted something in the distance and we edged closer, floating slowly as the engine was cut and everyone hunkered down for a better view, binoculars and zoom lenses at the ready.
There they were, in the distance. Our first glimpse of these majestic creatures in the wild. Two elephants. Two completely wild, undisturbed elephants just doing what they do and completely oblivious to us as we slowly drifted past in complete silence! The voyeuristic privilege of sharing a moment in time with these animals sending waves of silent euphoria and contemplation through everyone in our small vessel.
To say it was a thrilling experience would not do it justice, and the sheer magic of seeing the elephants in their own habitat without disturbing them, without harming them, without encroaching on their territory or having any negative effect at all is what made it even more special.
Eventually the guides steered the boat to shore for what would be the first of two short land excursions. telling us to stay back and keep quiet, he indicated that we follow him a short distance inland. A short walk later we spotted another small family of elephants in the distance, hugging the treeline and staying hidden for much of the sighting.
Unfortunately these guidelines are just that, guidelines. They are not universally binding yet, and there are no real set in stone international rules or laws that insist wildlife tourism or safaris must be run responsibly. But these guidelines have been written by experts in their field. Academics, scientists, conservationists and charities have given the minimum accepted standards that any wildlife tourism operator should abide by, and it is nice to see a wildlife tourism operator do just that. Not out of obligation, but out of a belief in that is how things should be.
I could use a ton of superlatives to describe the experience of seeing genuinely wild elephants just going about their daily business, but to be perfectly honest none of them could do the experience any justice.
Once again, we were not allowed to stay too long lest we run the risk of disturbing the elephants, and were slowly and quietly ushered back to the boat, where again we saw plenty of birds and more elephants in the distance as we quietly passed a variety of stunning islands.
It is really heartwarming to see genuinely responsible practices being put to good use in the wildlife tourism of this stunning national park, and it is good to know that the money gained from tourism is not only being put to good use to fund the conservation efforts in the area, but more importantly is not being allowed to become an overriding factor to responsible practices.
This is exactly what responsible wildlife tourism should be, and I urge all travellers to support this with their hard earned money, and just as importantly tell them exactly why you have chosen this safari over others and how much you love their responsible ethos. Give them even more incentive to be responsible. Unfortunately not all elephant tourism in Sri Lanka was as positive as my visit to Gal Oya National Park, and my next safari was a beacon of irresponsible tourism and bad management.
A trip to Minneriya National Park, one of the most popular destinations in Sri Lanka, was to be the source of my second elephant safari in Sri Lanka. A park that was every inch as beautiful and spectacular as Gal Oya and home to one of the most spectacular natural wildlife phenonemenon in the country, but unlike the previous national park, this was destined to be far more packed with tourists, and far less responsible.
Minneriya National Park is actually one of two neighbouring parks, with the adjoining Kaudulla making up a good portion of the parks vast size, and in one respect that is a great thing, as this is perfect for allowing its wildlife population a large area to roam free and protected.
In theory this is exactly what wildlife tourism should be, with the funding from the tourism industry being used to keep and care for large open spaces, natural habitats and the wildlife populations in them.
We arrived relatively early for the afternoon safari at Minneriya, and after heading through the crowded ticket office were shown straight to the vehicle that would show us around the pre planned route through the park.
The initial ride into the park itself was honestly a lot of fun, the bumpiness of the roads made the ride feel more akin to being thrown around in a snatch land rover careening through a mine field in Iraq or Afghanistan, but everyone was in good spirits despite the mild concussions and crushed ribs. The excitement of seeing various forms of wildlife first hand was just too palpable even as everyone kept ducking from the low branches that whipped against the jeeps frame.
The inescapable feeling of seeing elephants up close once again started to wash over me, after all this is part of the reason that so many people want experiences like this. The emotional connection that these wondrous animals have with human beings is as tangible as it is undeniable.
Just as expected, the elephants were all congregating around the lake and using it as a giant waterhole. They were swimming, bathing, grazing in the long grass and generally just doing whatever it is elephants like to do.
This sounds like an idyllic once in a lifetime experience, and it was. Except for one thing. Tourists. Right next to them more than twenty jeeps had parked as close as they could get to the elephants, and more and more jeeps just kept coming and adding to the irresponsible pile up. In just a matter of minutes of our own jeep sitting there, the number grew closer to forty.
The tourists in the maelstrom of jeeps were hardly being subtle about their presence either. Most were talking and chatting whilst posing for their all important selfies, and none were making any effort to silence the abundance of children on board the vehicles either. Not that it mattered of course, the engines of so many jeeps were already disturbing the elephants.
Whilst in many respects this national park is an amazing habitat for the elephants and other species which I did not get to see, the practices of the safari tour operators from what I saw are far from responsible and are in fact contrary to every best practice guidelines available.
One of the primary guidelines for ethical and responsible safaris is that the tour operators are never under any circumstance chase an animal that is attempting to get away. And yet that is exactly what was happening right in front of my eyes with more than half a dozen jeeps chasing after and corralling an elephant that was clearly trying to get away like a horde of fevered papparazzi chasing down a drunken C list celeb.
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