Recent events, including some news I got just this morning, was the inspiration for this post. It’s dedicated to the elephant few people are fortunate to to see. I don’t mean any particular elephant – not a tusker, or some performer of odd tricks. I mean the elephant who is not raiding a crop. The elephant who is not injured by a train. The elephant who is not being shot at, or bombarded with flames. The elephant who is not charging, or fleeing, in terror. The elephant who is not trying to hide in the bushes at the first scent of humans. The elephant who is not grieving its lost calf. In short, I mean the elephant at peace. That elephant.
In Uda Walawe, as in few other places, the Asian elephant can be seen at peace. A herd drifts by in the tall grass, rustling and rippling in the breeze, as they glide smoothly like a small convoy of ships. An ear flaps with the thud of a sail unfurling. There is nothing but the sound of the wind, the birds, and the munching of many mouths.
Maximus 