Friends this time?
After the elephant attack we experienced earlier during the trip...
...this close encounter meeting with yet another family being protective of a young kind of made us wary. Luckily, it was a friendly meeting this time. This just goes to show that elephant really are unique individuals with different personalities, and also important: each having their own history, memory and relation with humans.
The Sri Lankan elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to Sri Lanka. Since 1986, "Elephas maximus" has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years. The species is pre-eminently threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.
