Elephant Voices

Category: 1. General News, 3. Fields News Sri Lanka, 7. Conservation | Date: Jan 23 2009 | By: elephantvoices

During the Monsoon the two reservoirs, or tanks, that are the focal points for the elephants of Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks, fill up so completely that there is little grassland for the elephants to venture out of the forest on to. And that makes viewing them difficult. Since this is the first year that these elephants have been studied, we are still learning their ranging patterns. Manori found that after the rains began most of the elephants disappeared from the tank shore, but a few families lingered on and were seen on a regular basis.

Right now Manori is in the southern part of the country. She has been called to give evidence in an enchroament case involving the Uda Walawe National Park, which will be heard by the Supreme Court. This story has been making the press and we hope to be able to bring you more news soon.

Meanwhile, we are fortunate that there are so many elephant enthusiasts in Sri Lanka and one of them, Srilal Miththapala (who, incidently, has written a book on elephants and owns a beautiful eco-friendly lodge - Hotel Sigiriya - in the area) has kindly sent us some observations. So it seems as though some families (the same ones seen by Manori?) are still hanging out around the tanks.

Once the rains stop the authorities will begin to use the water in the tanks for irrigation in an almost two thousand year old practice. As the water recedes so the elephants return once more to the fertile grassland, reaching a peak in numbers by August.
OBSERVATION OF ELEPHANTS by Srilal Miththapala:

13th January approx: 25 in Minneriya and 35 in Kaudulla
14th January approx: 20 in Minneriya and 25 in Kaudulla
15th January approx: 15 in Minneriya and 10 in Kaudulla

And a couple of photographs - note how green the grass is!

Tags: behaviour, elephant behavior, elephants, elephantvoices, kaudulla, minneriya, sri lanka, uda walawe

No responses yet

Category: 1. General News, Thank You! | Date: Dec 23 2008 | By: elephantvoices

We’re getting very close to Christmas and the end of the year, and want to use this opportunity to send warm wishes and a heart felt thank you to all of you around the world who support elephants and our work financially or in other ways. Our best wishes and thanks also go to WD staff, and to all the other WD bloggers who work so hard to protect the many species in need - keep up the good work!

We had a good time during our hectic lecture and fundraising trip in California in November - and we are extremely grateful for all the warm hospitality, good friendship and generosity we experienced during our two week visit. The global financial crisis does not create the best atmosphere in which to raise funds, but the new American President (elect) and a newborn Obama in Amboseli keep us optimistic!

Vegetarian cooking party at our friend Coco’s house in Sausalito 8 November, a lively event to promote the interests of elephants and the work of ElephantVoices. (Photo: PartiesThatCook)


For a second year in a row we enjoyed the warm hospitality of Patty and Doug (and their 6 dogs) during a vegan reception at their home in Pacific Palisades, 16 November. (Photo: Tim Stahl)

It’s been a very busy year, as usual, which you can read more about in our End Year letter. In 2009 we intend to spend about half of our time on our new Sri Lankan project, a quarter on our Amboseli work and the remainder on advocacy. Petter and/or I will be in the field in Kenya in January, and part of February and March, and in Sri Lanka in June and again in September. Manori Gunawardena will be in Minneriya-Kaudulla throughout the year and Blake Murray will be helping us to collect and analyze data in Amboseli. Public awareness and education are elements that runs through all of our work, so you will continue to hear from us whether we are in the field or not.

As advancements in science contribute to our growing understanding of elephants we continue to put substantial time and effort into influencing welfare policy so that elephant interests are met. The elephant Watoto (Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle) in the photo is blurred due to stereotypical swaying - a behavior that expresses the massive frustration caused by confinement.  (Photo: Alyne Fortgang)

During 2009 we look forward to being with our long-term elephant friends in Amboseli, Kenya, and with our new acquaintences in Minneriya-Kaudulla, Sri Lanka. And, of course, to working with our colleagues in Amboseli and with Manori and our many new colleagues in Sri Lanka.  The survival of wild elephants depends on finding a balance between the needs of people and elephants - a task that requires the collaborative work of people all over the world.

In order to find ways for people and elephants to co-exist in Minneriya-Kaudulla we must start by defining the basic needs of an elephant population that seems to number over 1,000 individuals rather than the previous estimate of 450 - we have our work for 2009 cut out for us!

We wish you all a festive holiday season and a peaceful 2009 for all creatures!

Warm Greetings, Joyce and Petter

Tags: amboseli, captivity, elephant communication, elephants, elephantvoices, kaudulla, minneriya, mkep, sri lanka

One response so far

Category: 1. General News, 3. Fields News Sri Lanka | Date: Sep 29 2008 | By: elephantvoices

Manori and I had two fantastic last days - one in Kaudulla N.P. and one in Minneriya N.P. In Kaudulla we were fortunate to observe some very interesting defensive behavior during which we were confronted by a wall of elephants. One young female expressed her alarm at our presence by wide-eyed staring and by excited squeaking.

In Minneriya we were treated to an aggregation of 53 elephants. The group split and reformed as elephants went about their business: cooling down in the reservoir, splashing in the water, young males sparring, a musth male testing females, calves suckling and getting lost.

As the crow flies these two national parks are about 8 km apart, but it takes almost forty minutes to drive from one to the other. Along the way Manori and I stopped to pay our respects at the many shrines to Ganesh.

Kaudulla and Minneriya are separated by forest reserve, which includes a couple of small villages, and are surrounded by a mosaic of different habitat types - some protected, some unprotected.

One of the goals of our project will be to understand how the elephant population is using this landscape so that the authorities can better provide for their conservation and at the same time reduce conflict with people. In order to do that we need to know exactly how many elephants there are, and who is moving where, when. We also need to know whether the population is increasing or decreasing. Because the habitat is primarily forest it isn’t possible to get an accurate count. The only way to get solid answers is, therefore, to get to know the elephants individually - which is why we have been so very busy taking ID photographs. Later in the year we will be able to introduce you to some of these elephants via an online identification database.

In the meantime, just looking at the elephants gives a couple of clear indications. If the population is growing it is at a much slower rate than in Amboseli, as there are relatively fewer calves and juveniles to adults. And males over approximately 20 years old are covered in bumps caused by buckshot. They are the big raiders.

It’s been an extremely interesting and busy visit. In addition to getting to know the elephants we had a number of important meetings and discussions with the Wildlife Department and others. I gave two lectures - one to the Wildlife Department staff in Minneriya and the other in Colombo to the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society.

On our last day Manori and I had a meeting with Dilmah Tea, whose Conservation Foundation is supporting our work. I planted a tree on the grounds of their main office in Colombo to commemorate the beginning of our joint endeavor for elephant conservation.

It’s been a great pleasure to experience the Sri Lankan warmth and enthusiasm - everyone we have met has been very welcoming and helpful. This includes the management and staff at Hotel Sigiriya, who have welcomed us back to our new “home”.

Petter and I are looking forward to what lies ahead with renewed commitment. Working with Manori is a great pleasure and we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from someone with so much experience. Manori moves in an unusual circle of wildlife and elephant enthusiasts and we have slipped into this crowd with ease!

Tags: behavior, behaviour, elephants, elephantvoices, minneriya, sri lanka

One response so far

Category: 1. General News, 3. Fields News Sri Lanka, Support Appeals | Date: Sep 24 2008 | By: elephantvoices

These are extremely busy days, with elephant-related issues following us around the clock, and work priorities are high on the agenda. Collaborating with people in different time-zones adds to the feeling that we live in a small, global society, although it does steal some sleep!

Sri Lankans love elephants, despite an increasing number of human-elephant conflicts. ElephantVoices’ new project aims to reduce conflicts by creating more ownership towards solutions and consequences related to elephants and their conservation. Education and online access to project data are key words in the project. In the photo Joyce talks about elephants in front of a school-class near Udawalawe National Park.

Education is a core part of ElephantVoices’ goal - and even our blog here on WildlifeDirect is a consequence of that. We want share our knowledge and passion for elephants with you and, concurrently, stimulate interest in supporting elephant conservation and our work.

We have enjoyed participating on WD so far, and are happy to report back that your contributions have helped us to repair our field vehicle in Kenya. It is now ready for our next field trip which will take place between January and March 2009. Contributions through WD have also given us a much needed super-portable Asus Eee 901 computer, which Joyce has been using to write her field diary from Minneriya-Kaudulla - parts of which have been uploaded to this blog. The tiny Asus is a very lap-friendly device with a super-long battery which will serve her well for her 24 hour journey back to Norway… In other words - your support helps us do our job for elephants.

And this is partly how we see our blog efforts - writing the blog IS actually quite a lot of work. We provide you readers with news, experiences and facts from a world that not many have the possibility to be a part of. Those of you who do have the opportunity to support us may feel more connected with work that you believe is important. A win-win situation - for elephants, us, you.

Joyce “churping” - while recording during ElephantVoices’ visit to Udawalawe Transit Home 2003. Our friend R. Myunideen Mohamed, then Park Warden in Yala East National Park, is following a special kind of interview with curiousity…

We appreciate whatever you do for elephants - and continue to promise that if you support our work with a donation we will do our best to give you value for money. Elephants need and deserve no less.

It will be more quiet from Joyce now, by the way, she is soon at the end of this hectic start-up session of our new Sri Lanka research and conservation project. A couple of lectures and meetings in Colombo remain - and then, once she is back in the office, plenty of preparations related to field-work follow-up, proposal writing, web/database-development and our fund-raising trip to California in November await us. But that’s another story…

We’re happy to know that you are following our work - and we welcome any contributions!

Best wishes, Petter

Tags: behavior, behaviour, elephants, elephantvoices, sri lanka, udawalawe

One response so far

Category: 1. General News, 3. Fields News Sri Lanka | Date: Sep 16 2008 | By: elephantvoices

15/09/08

I arrived in Sri Lanka in the afternoon and Manori was at the airport to meet me. We had an hour long drive through traffic to the other side of town to her parent’s home where I was given a very warm welcome. Afternoon tea is a tradition here, just as in Kenya, and so I immediately felt at home!

That evening we were invited to Lalith and Ayanthie Seneviratne’s home for a dinner gathering with many of the friends Petter and I had made during our visit to Sri Lanka in 2003. A special surprise guest was Mohamed who had accompanied us on the safari we took around the national parks. Mohamed, who has an extraordinary connection with elephants was then warden of Yala East National Park and we learned so much from him.

The evening was very jolly - a guitar appeared and we ate a delicious meal prepared by Ayanthie.

ElephantVoices visits Yala East National Park on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast in 2003. We had a fantastic experience there thanks to our friend Lalith Seneviratne (right) and our extraordinary host, R. Myunideen Mohamed then Park Warden. The parks had just been reopened following two decades of civil unrest, but was hard hit by the Tsunami in December 2004. Mohamed’s family were among the many who lost everything but their lives. All the Park’s staff saved themselves, some by running side by side with water buffaloes. The elephants had left for higher ground earlier. The park’s new headquarters was submerged in five feet of water, but a miracle saved them from major damage.

16/09/08

This morning Manori and I got up early and drove to the northern side of Colombo to meet with the Director of Wildlife, Mr. Wijaysooryie. We had a very useful hour long meeting during which we discussed a variety of elephant issues including human elephant conflict, elephant habitat and what to do about elephants being hit by trains. Then we continued on our way north toward Minneriya. The drive was long and the traffic heavy, and I was really feeling jet-lagged. My system is very confused having come from Washington by way of Norway! Stops along the way for fresh passion fruit juice and samosas made me feel I was back in the tropics!

Manori is still looking for a place to set up our base and meanwhile the Hotel Sigiriya has generously given us two beautiful rooms free of charge. So I am writing this having been given a frangipani flower for my hair, a refreshing fruit drink, a cooled and scented face towel, a cup of tea and having done 10 laps in the pool. All this while being entertained by macaques stealing our sugar and langurs knocking over the furniture.

Stay tuned for the next installment…..

Tags: behavior, behaviour, elephants, elephantvoices, minneriya, sri lanka

One response so far