Web of Life

It was with sheer pleasure that I was looking forward to visiting the Minneriya National Park yet again.

The crowd at the entrance was a dismal sight, as that meant more time lost in getting in. However, once we entered the park it was the expanse of dryness that greeted us, which is the very reason that September being the end of the season to visit Minneriya makes it all worth it.

The mighty giants though, seemed to be hiding. It was well over half an hour before we spotted one bull elephant. As we closed in he retired to the bushes, somehow we persevered, and everyone tried their utmost to be quiet.

Following the elephant (who to say the least was not shy or frightened of us) we took a closer look. Another welcoming sight was that of two massive eagles that flew away from a nearby tree.

As we progressed through the thick of the jungle many a dry lake was a frequent sight. Bare trees, dried up bamboo shoots and grass were all too obvious of the season. A bumpy ride it sure was but nevertheless enjoyable even though we seriously doubted the so called 'season' of the park because we didn't spot an elephant for quite some time.

In our attempt to please ourselves that the drive to the park was worth it, many vain so called 'sightings' of herds from a distance proved to be futile as we discovered that oops! they were buffaloes!

A man in an oncoming jeep told us that a herd was spotted- so full throttle it was to the 'sighting'!

True to his word, there was a herd of about 50 elephants being led by the proud matriarch to a lake. Word got around about the herd and quickly there were a 'herd' of vehicles, gathering around.

The gentle giants splashing around with their young ones brought about many a comment and smiles to the on lookers. A baby elephant barely three months old was indeed a sight!

After about an hour they retired led by the matriarch.

Satisfied, we drove on yet again, to the other side of the lake where we saw a few more elephants.

A mother and her baby delighted us but it proved that we got a bit too close for comfort because she charged at us!

Supporting her was another elephant that came running out of the bushes charging at us. The vehicles quickly revved up the engines to leave, our bold driver stayed on with much reluctance due to our pleading. Even though we seemed to test the patience of the elephant he proved harmless and went back into the bushes.

As we were leaving we yet again passed another small herd of about 16 elephants and another group of three elephants.

Dark clouds were gathering in the skies, the peacocks and the sambar were ready to call it a day, so were we because our time was up. Making our way through the dusty roads, I recalled how during my last visit to the park, I saw a herd of about 100 elephants coming to the lake. Minneriya that day seemed to be overflowing with elephants reminiscent of what people say that you would never be disappointed at the park.

A tusker I didn't see this time, but there seemed hope for the future for these majestic creatures as the babies of the new season were several in numbers.