By Rohan Wijesinha
Nature can be pitiless, but humans are, by far, the cruelest of all. Look no further than media reports, not just in Sri Lanka but the world over, for proof – filled with accounts of the destruction of forests, natural habitats, and of fellow creatures, many who have inhabited this precious planet for millions of years before us, coupled with our systematic pollution of our oceans and waterways and the very air we breathe. When we destroy the Earth, where else can we live?
To quote renowned Sri Lankan conservationist Rukshan Jayewardene, are we governed by those who believe that “…ours is the final generation”?
Pitiless nature
On 2 July 2020, a visitor to Minneriya National Park noticed a female with two recently born babies huddled close to her as they walked through a forest clearing. Luckily, Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya who was present, and who has been conducting research on the behaviour of the elephants of the region, correctly advised caution prior to rushing to any conclusions. This was especially so as the babies were not seen suckling from the female. Dr. Pilapitiya had to observe the behaviour of the babies for four consecutive days before he was able to finally prove with absolute certainty that they both suckled exclusively from this one female. Thus, the first conclusive recording of the birth of twin elephants in the wilds of Sri Lanka was confirmed.
That was 15 months ago. After frequent sightings by many, with rains and the seasonal range changes of the elephant of the region, the twins’ herd was not seen for a few months. Finally, in August 2021, Dr. Pilapitiya found them again – his first sighting since 21 December 2020. One twin, the female, was missing. After several further sightings, Dr. Pilapitiya came to the sad conclusion that she had perished.
In his final sightings of the twins together, Dr. Pilapitiya had noticed that the male was in better body condition. Still dependent on the mother’s milk, the male seemed the more aggressive feeder. Baby elephants need about three gallons of milk a day, and though they will start to experiment with solids at about four months old, they will continue to drink milk for up to two years. This means the mother has to produce an adequate quantity of milk during all of this time; not just quantity, but quality too.
Callous humanity
Despite allegations that the baby was stolen or killed, not surprising based on the experiences of the past year when, on average, a wild elephant has been killed every day and the authorities at Minneriya made an arrest of a possible elephant-napper, the true reason for the baby’s demise, as per Dr. Pilapitiya, is that her mother was unable to produce enough milk for both her and her brother. In nature, and even in the human world today, survival is for the fittest.
While the available evidence makes it most probable that the death of this twin was due to natural causes, there may have been human interventions that not only contributed to her mother’s insufficiency of milk, but may also jeopardise the health of all the other wild elephants in the area as well as that of the human populations that border it.
In 2018, with the completion of the Moragahakanda Dam, the channels that were supposed to take these waters to the North and East had not, and have yet to be, completed. It was determined that until the completion of these channels, the Minneriya and Kaudulla Reservoirs would be used as holding tanks for the excess water now stored in Moragahakanda. This determination has serious consequences not only for the future of the wild elephants of the region, but also for the long-term economy of the local communities.
Scattering the gathering
Minneriya is internationally famous for “The Gathering”, the largest seasonal assembly of wild Asian elephants anywhere in the world. This usually happens during the months of drought, from August to October, when over 400 elephants may be seen in the early morning or evening on the exposed grasslands of the reservoir, for it is food that brings this number of elephants here during this time!
When the waters of the Minneriya and Kaudulla Reservoirs are released during the dry months for agriculture downstream, the receding waters expose acres and acres of fresh grasslands, vital fodder for the wild elephants of the region. During this time, the reservoirs drop to approximately 30% of their capacity, but their size means that there is plenty of water retained in them until the rains come again. When they do return, at the end of October, and as the water levels rise again, the elephants disperse to other areas, usually the Hurulu Eco Park, now lush with new growth from the replenishing rains. And so the annual cycle would continue not just for the wellbeing of the elephants, but also for the local human populations who benefit from “The Gathering”.
In 2016, conservationist and former The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) President Srilal Miththapala estimated that “The Gathering” earned approximately Rs. 4.4 billion for the local economy; these included hotels, guest houses, restaurants, safari jeep drivers, et al. Within the last 18 months, due to the global pandemic, it is easy to measure the economic devastation faced by these communities with the collapse of the tourism industry. They pray for the day that things return to normal, and tourists return to see this unique, natural happening.
Since 2018, however, with unseasonal water releases from Moragahakanda, the reservoirs are now maintained at 70% of their capacity, even at the height of the dry season. The available grasslands have almost halved in expanse, with half as much food available for the elephants. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Pilapitiya has recorded a large reduction in the number of elephants visiting the grasslands of Minneriya. “The Gathering” has been scattered, with elephants seeking food elsewhere. This will raise human-elephant conflict (HEC) and Dr. Pilapitiya has already recorded a six-fold increase in the conflict since unseasonal water releases commenced.
There will be no return to “normality” – that is unless sanity prevails and this natural wonder is allowed to happen once more. For who will now come to see a few dozen elephants, something they can see in any other country that hosts this endangered species?
It must also be remembered that this use for these reservoirs, as holding tanks, is only till the channels to the north are completed. As such, no long-term plans for agriculture may be made based on this temporary excess. “The Gathering” is to be destroyed for short-term expediency.
Will sanity prevail?
In 2018, the Mahaweli Authority, which is responsible for the flow of water from Moragahakanda, publicly expressed their willingness to control the volumes released to Minneriya, so as not to endanger “The Gathering”. In 2019, a representative of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) was appointed to the Water Management Committee which decides on water releases to all reservoirs. One wonders why they have been so spectacularly silent while this wildlife conservation and economic catastrophe is being committed. It is learned that a delegation from the Mahaweli Authority has recently visited Minneriya, having been re-appraised as to the problem by a wildlife enthusiast, and not the DWC. It is hoped that some long-term good will come of it.
One also wonders why those agencies for tourism, and the private tourism sector, have not raised their voices loudly to reverse this process. It is noted that the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance has raised this matter in the media, but it should be the statutory agencies that take the lead; after all, is this not for the country?
Nature is ever-forgiving of humanity, its greed, and co-operative stupidity.
In the words of Victor Hugo: “Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight, from before human cruelty or suffering. She overwhelms man by the contrast between divine beauty and social hideousness. She spares him nothing of her loveliness, neither wing or butterfly, nor song of bird; in the midst of murder, vengeance, barbarism, he must feel himself watched by holy things; he cannot escape the immense reproach of universal nature and the implacable serenity of the sky. The deformity of human laws is forced to exhibit itself naked amidst the dazzling rays of eternal beauty. Man breaks and destroys; man lays waste; man kills; but the summer remains summer; the lily remains the lily; and the star remains the star.”
Or has she finally run out of patience?
(The writer is a member of the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society [WNPS] Subcommittee on Human-Elephant Co-existence)
