“They say an elephant never forgets. What they don’t tell you is, you never forget an elephant”. This quote from Bill Murray echoed in my mind ever since I returned from the Kaudulla National Park, last Sunday.
It was because of the mesmerizing experience we had during our visit to witness the ‘elephant gathering’ at the Park. Originally, we set off from Colombo intending to witness ‘the gathering’ at the Minneriya National Park. However, on our way, the safari jeep organizer told us that more elephants were gathering in Kaudulla this season, so that, we changed our plans. We were advised to come early to Sigiriya where our safari organizer was, and leave by 2 pm if we were to enter the Park without a hassle. Otherwise, the crowds coming to Kaudulla would delay our entry.
After a quick lunch at a stopover in Sigiriya, we left in a safari jeep to reach the Park in 40 minutes. The entrance area was already packed with jeeps, many carrying foreign tourists, who perhaps, may have never seen an elephant in the wild, before. All were eager to get inside the Park. Since we were early and the Park’s ticket office was well organized with electronic ticketing, we were able to enter within 15 minutes.
The journey into the interior was along a bumpy road through the thick jungle in the dry zone, with dust being swirled up by the vehicles forging ahead, and everyone hanging onto the metal bars of the open jeep. It was a bright and breezy afternoon; the wind was strong enough to blow away our caps.
The convoy of jeeps in front of us suddenly stops, raising expectations that an animal or bird had been sighted. The visitors in front of us were taking photos but it turned out to be only a hornet’s nest. We were disappointed. According to our driver, Gamini, spotting birds and animals is not common in the Park nowadays because of poaching by villagers. We were able to spot only a lonely peacock and a group of foxes, apart from glimpsing a spotted deer concealed in the shrubs.
Our expectations were yet to be fulfilled; we kept on asking the driver where the elephants were. He meandered along the Park’s dirt tracks heading towards a line of jeeps further ahead, which seemed like black dots from a distance when we crossed high ground. The jeep plunged through a muddy stream and soon after, we parked behind a fleet of jeeps which had arrived before us.
What was in front of us was the most magnificent sight of the Park. ‘The gathering’ - several dozen elephants congregating in a small area, most of them feeding; others rolling in patches of muddy water. It was a beautiful sight indeed, the big creatures in their natural habitat. From our open-air jeep we could stand up and get a full view of our surroundings. There were several herds of elephants including a giant male tusker.
The jeeps wait in line, without disturbing the animals, visitors clicking away their cameras, some with huge telephoto lenses. It was a marvelous opportunity for travel photographers to get good shots of the best moments of these gentle quadrupeds. Apart from the clicking sound, everything else was still. The elephants seemed accustomed to the vehicles driving around, and ignored us.
Suddenly, we hear a howl from one animal. It was an angry elephant protesting over a jeep being too close, raising its trunk towards the intruder. The rest of the herd seemed quiet and went about munching the green and brown grass beneath. They grab a clump of grass with their trunks, thrash it back and forth to shake away the soil, before putting it into their mouths. A couple of times we saw elephants briefly wrestling with each other, before one gives way.
Most stay still, eating or guarding their babies. There were quite a few baby elephants in the particular herd that we saw.
It was a memorable experience - to see ‘the gathering’ at Kaudulla this season. With all those wonderful moments, one can easily realize, why you could never forget an elephant.
