Today we left Ella, on our way out we visited Ravana falls. Sri Lanka has some beautiful waterfalls and this is no exception. I am so privileged to have seen this.
This morning we went to visit an elephant orphanage. I was already a little uneasy. You hear so many horror story’s about elephants being mistreated in captivity with the purpose of their existence being only that to entertain humans.The orphanage was called The Elephant transit home and backed onto loads of land as well as a national park. As we approached the orphanage it seemed that the inner perimeter fence of the national park behind the orphanage had failed and therefore the elephants were getting out to the second perimeter fence by the road. We pulled over next to one of the elephants while it ate and covered itself in dirt. Being within 3 meters of this animal was a really special moment. These animals are absolutely beautiful.
We got to the orphanage and watched the baby elephants being fed. The baby elephants are taken in by the centre when they are separated from their mothers and the centre
raises them. When the elephants are about 10 years old they are released back into the national park behind the orphanage.
raises them. When the elephants are about 10 years old they are released back into the national park behind the orphanage.
Although the babies were so cute and it was so nice to see them this was a bittersweet moment. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that the reason why the vast majority (if not all) of the babies are there is because of humans. It is quite common for farmers to dig wells on their land, the babies fall in and the mother leaves. Additionally the use of farmers electric fences can have seriously damaging impacts on the elephants and can kill them.
It bothered me that the reason I could see these beautiful animals today was because humans interference has put them in a situation where they have no mother to look after them. Our destructive and selfish endeavours has put these animals in this situation.
My issues weren’t so much with the orphanage as without this place these babies would not have a chance and it seemed relatively comfortable for the elephants. The elephants were not handled or put on show as a display. Rather the public are allowed to sit in a segregated area and watch the babies being fed. These animals were not
performing or put under distress. However I am more disappointed by our actions as human beings and how we consistently prioritise ourselves, we expect animals to be confined to reserves and take the rest of their habitat for ourselves without compromise. I appreciate that the flip side of the argument is that we need somewhere to grow food and to live and that the elephants and humans can’t live side by side without incident. I do however ask, why are we more important? I don’t claim to have all the answers or any solutions however all I know is that we need to change the way we view these beautiful animals.
performing or put under distress. However I am more disappointed by our actions as human beings and how we consistently prioritise ourselves, we expect animals to be confined to reserves and take the rest of their habitat for ourselves without compromise. I appreciate that the flip side of the argument is that we need somewhere to grow food and to live and that the elephants and humans can’t live side by side without incident. I do however ask, why are we more important? I don’t claim to have all the answers or any solutions however all I know is that we need to change the way we view these beautiful animals.
In summary I enjoyed seeing the elephants however would prefer to live in a world where we will not need these orphanages.
After this on our way to Hikkaduwa we stopped at Galle to have a look around the fort. This was built in 1588 by the Portuguese and was taken over by the Dutch in 1649. After the Dutch it was occupied by the British from 1796. Galle fort is a UNESCO world Heritage Site. The importance of Galle declined after the British developed Colombo as their capital city and main port in the mid nineteenth century.
We then walked along to see the Galle lighthouse. The first lighthouse was constructed in 1848 and was about 100m inland, this was destroyed by fire in 1934. The current lighthouse was erected in 1939 and has a tower height of 26.5m.
And of course when you are by the sea on a hot day it is criminal not to have some ice cream. I went for lemon and it was absolutely delicious.
We finished off the day arriving in Hikkaduwa where we watched the sunset. It could be worse...
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