whose numbers are in the hundreds of thousands in the wild, the smaller Asian elephants numbers are dwindling, with between 35,000 – 40,000 remaining in the wild today. It’s believed that there are nearly 6,000 wild elephants in Sri Lanka; the highest population in Asia.

The numbers are dwindling for a number of reasons. The growth of cities and the lands the elephants inhabit being one. Poaching does not happen but is not the biggest problem in Sri Lanka as the Asian Elephant only grow small tusks, if they grow them at all.
Elephants are also important cultural and religious symbols in Sri Lanka, with many elephants kept as pets or for tourism – though strict laws now control and often prevent this from happening now. While many elephants area dozen other jeeps.

Having the opportunity to see these animals in the wild should be treasured, but in the pursuit of giving the visitors a truly up-close experience, some drivers get a little bit too close for comfort – both elephant and human. This became apparent when a male elephant trumpeted and charged at a nearby jeep.
Neither elephant nor jeep inhabitants were injured, but the message came across loud and clear that perhaps we were overstaying our welcome.

With sunset approaching the memory of elephants began to head off along the corridor. As the adrenaline of seeing these giant animals wore off and the jet-lag began to kick in we slowly made our way out of the park and back to our home for the night.

Of all the experiences