“Some have had a bad experience with people.”
As if on cue, a young male limps into view, as
best he can, keeping weight of one foreleg.
“See the puncture wound on his shoulder?”
The Doctor says. “He was probably shot.”
He might survive. The Doctor speaks of
another elephant that manages well enough
on three legs ater being hit by a train — but
either way he’s a stark, broken reminder of
the problem of human-elephant conlict
in Sri Lanka. Last year, 320 elephants were
killed. They weren’t the victims of poachers
because Asian elephants are usually
tuskless. Instead, they fell into cultivation
pits, or were hit by vehicles or were shot by
terriied villagers protecting their paddy
ields. And 70 people were killed too,
colliding with elephants while riding their
motorbikes at night or trampled as they tried
to scare them away from the rice stores that
feed their families.
Sri Lanka has the highest density of
Asian elephants in the world, and, as more
land is farmed, the paths of people and
elephants cross more frequently. For 70
years, the authorities have endeavoured to
conine elephants to national parks. They’ve
corralled them there, over long distances,
using vehicles to scare them along. They’ve
erected electric fences around the parks
— over 2,670 miles of them, so much fencing
it could stretch twice around the country.
Despite all this, the majority of elephants
remain outside these areas.
“Elephants have traditional ranges,”
The Doctor explains. “One elephant was
translocated 60 miles east but found its
way back within a month. Another was so
desperate to get home, it lost its bearings
and swam three miles out to sea. There was a
huge operation to tow it back in.’
For all its good intentions, the policy of
ring-fencing the elephants hasn’t worked
— indeed, it’s exacerbated the problem
by making some of them suspicious and
grumpy, like the hairy-lipped matriarch on
the plain. “The surprising thing isn’t how
many people are killed each year but how
few,” sighs The Doctor. “My team and I
have the solution though,” he continues.
“A way to let people and elephants live
together — I can show you.” But not now, he
apologises, leaving me hanging, for dusk is
close and there are spots of rain in the air.
We agree to meet later during my trip.Guardians of the temples
In the meantime, I want to see some temples.
Central Sri Lanka contains the so-called
Cultural Triangle, a region rich in UNESCO-
listed architecture, and at the triangle’s apex
is the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. Next
day, I’m taken there by Chitral, of local tour
operator Nature Trails, to visit some of the
country’s earliest and holiest sites, built
when Buddhism was in its infancy.
Holiest of all is the Mahabodhi Temple
Complex, which surrounds the Sacred Bo
Tree, grown from a sapling of the ig tree
beneath which Buddha was said to have
attained enlightenment. It’s been here
since 288 BC and is believed to be the oldest
human-planted tree in the world; its gnarled
branches supported by golden props. Over
thousands of years the tree has survived
storms, sackings of the city and even a
vandal’s attempt to chop it down in 1929. The
big question, of course, is whether it would
survive Justin in his balloon.
What most draws my attention, though,
are the chunky, weatherworn stone
elephants that stand sentry at the temple
gates. Moustachioed attendants might be
checking our tickets, but there’s no doubt
where the symbolic power lies. “Elephants
were engines of war at the time these temples
were built,” Chitral explains. “They represent
strength and protection.”
Nowhere is more strongly protected than
the nearby Ruwanwelisaya. Sealed inside its
vast dome — once the tallest building in Asia
— is the largest collection of Buddha’s relics
anywhere, and that merited a supersized
quota of elephants. They emerge, shoulderOver millennia,
the Bo Tree has
survived storms,
sackings and even
a vandal’s attempt
to chop it down
in 1929. The big
question, of course,
is whether it would
survive Justin in
his balloonFROM TOP LEFT: Carved elephants;
domed stupas, the larger of which
contains a signiicant collection of
Buddha’s relics; and Kanchuka Pooja
ceremony, all at Ruwanwelisaya IMAGES: 4CORNERS; GETTY; CHITRAL JAYATILAKE96 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
SRI LANKA