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| *Ayubowan! |
*May you live long!
The elephant and the people of Sri Lanka
have had a long relationship that is estimated to be over 3,000 years old! Even today the elephant plays a vital role in
Sri Lanka because it is a living cultural and religious icon and symbol. Unfortunately the currently prevalent intense
human-elephant conflict has brought people and elephants to a crossroad where the
future of the elephant looks bleak. Today human-elephant conflict (HEC) had become one of the biggest environmental and
socio-economic crises in Sri Lanka.
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| A 3000 year old relationship. A good mahout with an elephant is a great team effort that is very interesting to watch |
From 1991 to June 2012 alone 3,216
elephants and 1,216 people had died in rural Sri Lanka due to HEC. The extent of crop and property damages to
farmers by elephants is ~US$10 million per annum. HEC continues to increase due to ineffective
landscape-level planning and land use that is creating agriculture based
livelihoods that are incompatible with elephants. Sri Lanka’s primary rural industry is
agriculture, which is a huge contributing factor to HEC. Therefore measures to
mitigate HEC must benefit both people and elephants.
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| The death of a national cultural icon and religious symbol |
For the past 16 years the Sri Lanka
Wildlife Conservation Society has been developing innovative and effective
measures to mitigate human-elephant conflicts.
In recognition of these efforts the Society has received the following
awards:
- 2008: A UNDP Equator Initiative Prize,
which honors community-based projects that represent outstanding efforts to
reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
- 2009: Whitely Fund for Nature Associate
Award
- 2010: National Science Foundation award
for "Science and Technology Contribution to Improve Sustainable Social
Development"
- 2011: Selected as “The Charity of the
Year” by the United States Ambassador to Sri Lanka
- 2011:
Annual Financial Award of the America Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in
Sri Lanka
Currently the society has one of the
world’s foremost and longest operating projects to resolve human-elephants
conflicts, which is the Saving Elephants by Helping People (SEHP) Project now
in its 16th year. The SEHP
Project as it’s popularly known has helped to minimize conflicts and create
tolerance for elephants in an area that used to suffer from intense human-elephant
conflicts. The SEHP project has become a
successful model that has been emulated in other Asian elephant range countries
with similar issues successfully.
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| A stone plaque commemorating the Saving Elephants by Helping People Project |
An
important reason for the success of the SEHP Project is the volunteers who help
us with our field research, monitoring and data archiving. The volunteer program of the Society is now in
its 10th year and over that period hundreds of international volunteers
from over 50 countries have participated in it. In appreciation of their contributions
as well as to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the volunteer
program, we are sharing these memoires from former volunteers who had volunteered
at our project and had contributed their valuable time, talents, skills and
resources to our wildlife conservation efforts.
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| One of the first volunteer groups with the SLWCS Field Staff |
The Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society is tremendously grateful to
these volunteers and hope their memoires will inspire others to volunteer for us.
We hope you experience our wildlife and
the warmth and hospitality for which Sri Lanka is legendary during your volunteer
experience with us. Our aim is to ensure that our volunteer program is
the center of your wildlife conservation and cultural experience in Sri
Lanka.
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| Welcome! |
Work with us
Encourage locals
to value their environment
Learn about
human-wildlife conflicts and about wildlife conservation
Come join us
Offer your
knowledge and talents
Make new friends
Experience
wildlife and Sri Lankan culture
Important
Note: If you have volunteered with us and would like to share your experiences
please email them as a word document with your photographs to info@slwcs.org
Volunteer Memoires
October
2012
Volunteer
Claire Beyer
Australia
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| Claire |
In
October 2012, I spent two and a half weeks volunteering with SLWCS after
hearing about the organisation from a previous participant in Thailand. We were
also volunteers at a project in NE Thailand which dealt with the wellbeing of
captive elephants. Gene had spent three months with SLWCS and was full of great
stories and enthusiasm for the project. I had wanted to visit Sri Lanka since
my teenage years and after returning home from Thailand, Gene's tales stayed
with me. As a keen photographer of elephants I also wanted the opportunity to
photograph them in the wild and see them roaming freely.
I
was met in Negombo by the very friendly Aravinda and Sampath and immediately
felt at ease in their company. We set off on the 7 hour journey it would take
to arrive at the project site near Wasgamuwa National Park and we chatted
easily, with me bombarding them with questions! About Sri Lanka, the elephants
I would see, the project. Aravinda was very knowledgeable and answered all my
questions good-naturedly. The journey went quickly, stopping for a delicious
lunch and a bit of sightseeing in Kandy on the way.
Arriving
at the project site late afternoon, the sky was a dusty pink and the view from
the house did not disappoint. Overlooking a grassy plain with a thin river
running through it, usually a full lake during the wet season, and distant
mountains we feasted on wonderful curry and rice and turned in for an early
night, tired after our long journey. The house had five simple rooms with which
to house volunteers but as the only volunteer I had a room to myself!
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| A dusky pink sky |
Aravinda
and I set off early the next morning down onto the plain for our first bird
watching session and I was immediately amazed at the varied bird life. We wrote
down each bird we saw, also recording our GPS location and weather conditions
and after just an hour had recorded a staggering 27 different types. Bird
watching fast became one of my favourite activities and looked forward the
daily, early morning twitching.
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| Blue Naped Monarch |
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| Changeable Hawk-eagle |
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| Common Kingfisher |
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| Green Imperial Pigeon |
We
also did transects in various locations recording the signs and movements of
elephants. We reordered elephant dung size, its location and age, also
measuring footprints to determine the approximate age and size of its owner. As
well as recording elephant signs we also did a long trek up into the mountains
through beautiful jungle searching for other mammal signs such as those from
leopards and sloth bears. Some of the immense trees we passed were awe
inspiring and the stories of leopards passing closely to meditating monks at
the hut high up the mountain fascinated me.
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| Cooling off in a stream while crossing it to go collecting data on leopards |
But
by far the most enjoyable activity was afternoon time in the tree hut, a
surprisingly comfortable structure high up in a tree which creaked and moved
with the branches in the wind. It was the perfect spot to view the elephants as
they made their way from the forest to the lake and made it easy to record
their movements and behaviour.
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| The tree hut |
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| Climbing to the tree hut |
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| The view |
Monsoon rain became a regular afternoon occurrence and provided incredible lightning storms, also filling the surrounding water catchments with much needed water.
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| White egret |
Because of the wet some of our tree hut time became jeep time but also gave us a couple of very close encounters with the elephant herds. On one rainy occasion we observed a large herd being followed by a number of males, some of the females obviously in estrous.
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| A herd approaching the Land Rover by the Tree Hut |
One large male approached us from behind sending Siriya clambering to the front of the Land Rover! But he turned to return to the females. It was absolutely exhilarating seeing them up close and being able to observe their behaviour, I felt very privileged.
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| A massive bull emerging from the jungle... |
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| ...and keeps approaching the Land Rover! |
We
also did fence monitoring, recording any posts that may have been broken or
wire that had become slack. It was interesting to see the electric fences at
work and even greater to know that they were doing their job by dramatically
reducing the instances of human/elephant conflict.
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| Electric fence monitoring with Veroni |
Visiting
the local school was also a great highlight. The kids were so gorgeous, with
friendly, open and curious smiles. Aravinda showed them some nature videos as
well as one about the work that SLWCS does. The headmaster seemed very pleased
the whole exercise and was also keen to have the children exposed to things
outside of their daily lives. He became very interested in my practice of yoga
and so we decided I would teach about 50 of the students a thirty minute yoga
practise. Aravinda and I put together a short video presentation about yoga, its
history, connection with Hindu and Buddhist religion, etc., to show them before
the practice. On the day the kids were great, although the girls remained in
their skirts which meant a quick rethink of poses! But they were very
enthusiastic, and eager to please, and did really well. It was great fun and I
thoroughly enjoyed being able to give something to the school.
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| A Calotes garden lizard |
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| A herd of Axis or Spotted Deer with a magnificent stag |
Everyone
on the project was so accommodating and friendly and I felt very well taken
care of. Leela's food was absolutely delicious and I don't think there was a
single dish that I didn't love. Siriya provided ample entertainment! Sampath
and Aravinda were also kind enough to take me on an excursion to Dambulla and
Sigiriya which were both staggeringly beautiful. And our trip into the lovely
Wasgamuwa National Park provided lots of great elephant and bird viewing.
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| Relaxing with Sampath & Veroni by the Tree Hut Corridor while waiting for elephants to show up |
All
in all it was an unforgettable experience and I leave feeling that I have
contributed just a little to the great work that SLWCS does. I will definitely
be back.
Crocodile Rescue
On
our way to the tree hut one afternoon we began our way through the water which
had collected in the concrete catchment part of the road when suddenly Aravinda
called out for Sampath to halt the car. Peering forward we could see a small
baby crocodile swimming ahead of the Land Rover. Jumping out and into the water
we watched with wide eyes wondering what to do. We couldn't leave it for fear
another vehicle may not be so kind. It swam around behind the jeep and hid
alongside one of the tyres. Sampath grabbed a stick to hold it down so one of
us could quickly grab it behind the head but it was too close to the tyre.
Aravinda retrieved a cloth from the vehicle and as Sampath coaxed it out into
the open with the stick Aravinda placed the cloth over its back, trying to get
a grip behind its’ head. The frightened little thing was snapping furiously,
also emitting high pitched squeaking noises. Sampath took over and managed to
grip behind its head holding it up for us to examine more closely. Aravinda
took over and as Sampath moved the jeep to clear the way for other vehicles we
made our way down to the lake with our little croc. We found a small inlet and
Aravinda gently placed the croc on the ground, removing his hand quickly, and
it hastily made its way into the water. We watched as it tried to hide near the
reeds, keeping itself as still as possible. No doubt wondering what on earth
had just happened. We were jubilant and excited – a Croc Rescue!!
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| The baby crocodile hiding by the tyre |
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| Sampath trying to capture it by pining down with a stick |
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| Sampath The Crocodile Hunter |
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| The baby crocodile none the worse for its adventure |
October 2012
Chiara Melone & Claudio-Massucco
Italy
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| Intrepid travelers: Chiara and Claudio |
Dear Ravi,
First of all I would like to thank you, your
team of people for the welcome, their kindness, politeness and professionalism.
It has been great to experience Sri Lankan culture and life at the field house: Chinthaka, Aravinda and Sampath have been very nice and explicative at any question husband and I asked and didn't let us get bored but at the same time they they gave us the freedom to take our time to enjoy the quietness of the lake or to observe its beautiful living beings.
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| Observing nature with Sampath |
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| On a jungle trek with Aravinda |
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| Observing birds while waiting for elephants |
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| There is always something fascinating to photograph |
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| Freshly prepared food is served for all meals |
The food was very good, I also miss the tea time, and Leela, the female cook, is a really lovely person. Siriya was very nice and helpful. And as I'm a cat lover, the presence of
Useless, the cat was a real bonus.
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| For dessert there is fresh fruits and curd and treacle |
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| Useless |
I'm only a little bit sad that during our week in the project the elephants turned up only a couple of times and both times it was too dark to take pics and for a short time. As I had written in the form, I'm really keen on wildlife photography in which I'm better than in reportage pics but it has been very interesting to take part in everyday activities and to meet or simply smile with local people while doing it.
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| Recording data |
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| Volunteers collecting data is a tremendous help to the Society's conservation efforts |
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| At the tree hut with Aravinda |
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| In the field with Chinthaka, Siriya and Aravinda |
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| By the Weheragalagama Tank |
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| Itinerant conservationists |
And even if elephants weren't so nice to show up when we climbed the treehouse or walked in the jungle looking for evidence of the passage or checked the fence or got involved in something which had to do with elephants, I know that in any case we helped a little bit for their welfare and to smooth over the human-elephant conflict.
I will go on following your blog and your work and I'm happy to have found new friends by getting involved in your SEHP Project.
Take care!!
Chiara
August
2012
Nick
Bradsworth
Australia
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| Nick the avid birder and photographer |
Hi
Ravi,
I
just wanted to send an email to thank you again for taking me on board
volunteering with the SLWCS and to let you know how much of a great time I had
during my stay in Sri Lanka. After I spoke to you on the phone I really got
into a routine staying there and I honestly wish I was still there. I learnt,
saw and experienced so much.
.JPG) |
| Going on a leopard study transect |
It's
a shame we didn't get to meet in person because from what people have said
about about you, and watching documentaries with you in them you sound like
such an amazing person and you ought to be proud of what you have achieved and
set up with the SLWCS. What I want to achieve in life is similar to what you
have done yourself. Next year I will be returning to University to start a
Bachelor of Science (Wildlife and Conservation Biology) and doing these
different volunteer projects will give me (I believe) a great advantage over
other students and further down the track, in job applications.
.JPG) |
| A bull dust bathing during sunset has created a hallow - is it a sign of its impending extinction and sanctification? |
.JPG) |
| Two bulls fun jostling |
.JPG) |
| Two bulls testing each other's strength |
I
wish you all the best for the future of the project and if there is anything I
can do to help (from Melbourne) please let me know. I spoke to Chinthaka about
me trying to put in an article in our local weekly paper about your
organization and my experiences and a couple of my pictures, I'll see where I
go with that and I'll let you know.
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| The eye of the cameraman |
Regards,
Nick
June/July
2012
Cheranga
Dharmasiri
England
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| Cheranga fondly called by the field team Dr. Poop collecting elephant dung to analyze parasite infestations... |
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| ...while Craig writes down locality information |
Dear
Mr. Corea,
Hope
you are keeping well. I came back last night from Sri Lanka after spending a
wonderful time in Wasgomuwa. Everyone was very helpful and I was able to
collect the needed data on 32 samples. I will forward you the final report once
the data is tabulated. Chinthaka, Aravinda and Siriya looked after us well. I
was sorry to have missed you, but have left a small gift with Chinthaka for you
as a token of appreciation for giving me the chance to do my project.
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| Leaving to observe elephants and collect dung samples |
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| On the trail of elephant dung |
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| There is a lot to elephant dung than meets the eye...apparently! |
I
am hoping to come to Sri Lanka again in two weeks with my parents and younger
brother and will be in touch then. We will be there for four weeks and hope I
will be able to meet you then, if you are back in Sri Lanka.
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| Sharing experiences during the visit with family |
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| On the Sunrise Rock by the SLWCS Field House with Chinthaka |
Thanks
again for all the support.
Best
Wishes,
Cheranga
December
2011 – January 2012
Craig
Fox
England
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| The Indomitable Craig |
A
Note from the Jungle
The
street(s) of Hettipola are a far cry from the bustle of Sri Lanka’s metropolis,
Colombo. The jungle air is
intoxicating. The men discuss whilst the
women glide in their saris, commerce everywhere. Fresh fruit, vegetables and fish add colour
to the timber buildings. Hettipola is
the closest town to the Sri Lankan Wildlife Conservation Society (SLWCS)
research station, in Sri Lanka’s Central Province. Here, the city echo that drowns out silence
is gone.
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| The colorful street vendors of Hettipola Town |
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| A vegetable vendor measuring an order of bitter gourd |
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| A Spice Vendor with various chili and curry powders |
It
takes an hour to drive to base camp from town.
It doesn’t feel like an hour. The
road is small but functional. Two canals
flank the concrete and separate the cars, bicycles and tuc-tucs from rice
fields and the jungle.
The
trip from Colombo to base camp can be quite arduous. But, all that frustration seems to vanish
when I’m being introduced to the camp staff.
The camp is open-air, functional and the custodians are very
welcoming.
I
quickly discover that I have arrived at an exciting time. New projects are being developed. This research will help to evaluate the
social and economic impact of human-elephant conflict within the study
area.
Tracking
elephant movement can help the SLWCS researchers identify and predict
patterns. This information is vital to
achieve minimum levels of conflict. The
SLWCS is in the process of developing new trails (transects) that researchers
and volunteers can regularly use to monitor elephant activity. I’m very fortunate to have been witness to
the foundational phase of this research.
Like the first time I saw a wild elephant, this was extremely exciting.
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| Chinthaka, J-Banda and Craig Assessing a new trail transect |
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| Field Scout, J-Banda on a fallen tree branch scouting for elephants |
Walking
in the jungle with very experienced researchers and scientists is
mesmerizing. We got to see some
fascinating wildlife, including sambhur, water buffalo, elephant and a montage
of birdlife. We walked, collecting
information as we identified elephant dung, ground and aerial spoor.
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| One of the new study transects |
A
large elephant bull had arrived in the area.
Tracking an elephant can be quite difficult. They can move a lot faster than people,
especially people who are relentlessly searching for tracks. Nonetheless, this didn’t stop us. This Bull had walked along a new transects
less than two hours before we arrived in the area. Everyone was very confident that the new
transect was going to yield some good data.
The presence of this new bull was daunting but very encouraging. For days after we first found fresh tracks,
we always seemed to be just behind this elephant. It was becoming clear that this bull had
never been in this area before. His
movement patterns had very little deliberateness about them. As we developed new transects we would
regularly note the presence of this giant.
I think he was lost and most certainly confused.
.JPG) |
| Pinky one of the largest dominant bulls in the study area |
During
most evenings we would retire to a tree house that the SLWCS and local
villagers had built, to observe elephants moving in the buffer zone of Wasgamuwa
National Park. Being up high is a great
way to observe terrestrial mammals. By
being very quiet and patient you can almost blend to the surroundings, allowing
wildlife to behave very naturally. We
observed elephants moving to water on three occasions. Both were top class sightings. We were able to get some good picture of each
elephant’s head, ears and flank. All
this information will be used to identify individuals in the future and create
a database that can be used as a reference for future sightings.
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| Searching high... |
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| ...searching low... |
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| ...Craig always finds what he is looking for! |
I
met a lot of the local villagers and farmers on my trip. The SLWCS works very closely with the local
people. There is a shared respect, which
is marvelous to see. All the people I
met were very warm and welcoming.
Something I haven’t always experienced in other parts of the world. I felt a part of the start of a very exciting
phase for the Sri Lankan Wildlife Conservation Society
Craig
July
31, 2011
Becky
Knueven
U.S.A.
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| Becky and fellow volunteer Stefania in the Knuckles Mountains |
I
decided to come to Sri Lanka for an opportunity to see elephants in the wild,
which is not something many can say they have been able to do. Preparing myself
for the trip was easy, as this was not my first time living in an equatorial
region and I was expecting the heat, humidity and insects. For someone
unfamiliar with the climate and day-to-day life, it would be difficult to
adjust.
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| Getting familiar with elephant sign |
As
far as life on the project goes, I enjoyed doing different activities on a
daily basis. It was awesome to see the scope of the project and how it covers a
wide range of needs, whether it be collecting data on elephant movement and
human/elephant interaction in tree hut to aiding villagers and providing orange
plants to protect their homes.
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| Monitoring the growth and condition of an orange plant provided by the SLWCS |
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| A village woman with one of the fruit bearing orange trees |
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| Stefania observing elephants from the Tree Hut |
From the perspective of someone who studied
geography in an undergraduate program, the project covers many facets of the
discipline. It was interesting to watch the human/elephant interactions and
observing the conflict first-hand. The knowledge gained from our daily
activities and tree hut observations gave me a new outlook on the issues
affecting Sri Lanka today. I had no idea about the variety of ways in which the
program helps the people. My eyes were opened to multiple methods of deterrence,
such as orange trees and electric fences.
February/March
2011
Michael
Elkins
England
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| An appreciative student flock |
There
was an article on human elephant conflict on the BBC website and the work the
SLWCS were doing in the villages. Great to see that the hard work is getting
the exposure it deserves. Thanks for the
opportunity to take part in the programme. I will hopefully be back for more in
the not too distant future.
Mike
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| Hope to see you soon! |
Photo credits in alphabetical order:
Aravinda Rathnayake
Becky Knueven
Chiara Melone
Claire Beyer
Craig Fox
Chinthaka Weerasinghe
Nicholas Bradsworth
Ravi Corea
Stefania Laddaga Silvestri
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