Elephants Everywhere!

Not much wi-fi for the next few days, so I will post when I can. This one will be brief. We're on the southern coast of Sri Lanka in a beautiful beachside town called Mirissa. Arrived yesterday after a night in Udawalawe National Park, a place known for its herds of wild elephants.

Gearing up for the big safari!

Within 5 minutes we spotted our first big herd - there are about 500 wild elephants in this sprawling 77,000 hectare park, but the odds of encountering them are quite high.

Watering holes are always a good place to find animals, and our guide insisted there were crocodiles in here. But given the large numbers of water buffaloes lazily bathing, I'm a bit skeptical.

Our guide was well-intentioned, but his English was extremely limited, so he wasn't adding much value to the ride. He occasionally pointed out wildlife but the kids were just as good at finding the animals as he was.

The poor under-appreciated water buffalo. They are impressive animals to be sure, but we never even slowed down when we passed them. Too similar to a cow, I suppose - they just don't have the appeal of elephants or leopards (which this park has, but we were not fortunate enough to see).

These trucks are great for seeing the various creatures of the park, and it wasn't long before we found the next herd.

One of the few times my daughter isn't important enough in a photograph to be in focus! Sorry babe - but we're here for the elephants.

That's one big ass. Must make a big poo.

Yes, indeed, daddy-o. Now how does that shot not surprise me?

Now peacocks may not impress many people, but this guy was putting on quite a show for the local peahens. He was going at it in all his glory for about 5 minutes - eventually we had to start driving again and gently nudge him off the road.

So our sightings included: elephants (tons!), buffalo, crocodile, monitor lizards, wild foxes, deer, monkeys, hornbills, peacocks, eagles, parakeets and many other birds. Not too shabby.

We also decided to check out the Elephant Transit Home, where orphaned baby elephants are looked after and nursed until they can be re-introduced into the wild.

Got milk?

I suppose this is the circus industry's equivalent of "offsets"

Note this little guy's prosthetic leg - probably a land mine, but we weren't able to know for sure. Given this country's civil war, there are plenty of unexploded ordnance just waiting to be stepped on.

Well, we certainly hit our elephant quota today! Another reason why Sri Lanka is awesome. Udawalawe is one of many national parks in this country, and if this one is any indication of the quality of the others, then animal lovers will be well-served to visit this island gem.