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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Banks PLK" data-source="post: 11647217" data-attributes="member: 279320">At dusk, the giants came, crashing through the jungle. But, as  always, the cooks and waiters were ready for them, with saucepans and  whistles. After a brief exchange of trumping and hooting, there was a  splintering of trees, the beasts fell back and the lodge fell silent. "Elephants," said the cook. "They know the game." Across central Sri Lanka, similar scenes are played out each night.  During our two weeks, almost everywhere we went was designated "area of  human-elephant conflict". Two years after the end of the 26-year civil  war, it's almost as if old front lines have reformed. With 70 per cent  of the wild elephants living outside national parks, they are in  constant competition with farmers for the country's rice crop. Around  Habarana, the farmers even build watch-huts high in the trees. One  night, I persuaded a farmer, called Mohathun, to show me his tree house.  It had room for three farmers and a cosy hearth. "Once we sang to scare  off the elephants," said Mohathun, "but now we use fireworks." For me, this uneasy coexistence of man and elephants is fascinating.  But even more remarkable is that such creatures exist here at all. Sri  Lanka is slightly smaller than the UAE, and yet it manages to support  not only big cats but also more than 6,000 wild elephants. How does it  do it? <img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /><img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/yes.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":yes:" title="Yes    :yes:" data-shortname=":yes:" /> The answer, I now realise, has much to do with the island's shape,  like a planter's hat. Around the coast, we found ourselves on a brim of  low flat plains, of paddy fields and palms. But towards the centre, an  enormous hump of rock appeared, about twice the size of Qatar and more  than 2,100 metres tall. When the clouds off the Indian Ocean hit this,  they turn to rain, creating vast rivers. Humans have been fighting over  the greenery for centuries, beginning with the Sinhalese invaders  (around 2500 BC), followed by the Tamils (around 200 BC). Animals like  the forest too, and they have flourished.I doubt the animals have ever been impressed by these cities.  Civilisation has, however, left them a vital amenity: the Minneriya  Tank. Big enough to swallow a large town, it survives the annual  drought. Over the last 2,000 years, this tank has become a rallying  point for elephants, known as "The Gathering". On the day of our visit,  they were arriving by the herd. I hate to describe animals as looking  "happy" or "sad" but these beasts seemed overjoyed. Huge groups,  totalling more than 200, danced around, flapping their ears and waving  their trunks. This is as near as elephants get to holding a shindig.for more check this link .. its from a news paper website in UAEhttp://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/sri-lankas-pachyderm-paradise</blockquote>

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