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| Sunday, 10 November 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Memoirs of a game ranger : Jungle expeditions by E. Desmond White It may have been noticed that elephants usually resort to mock charges when they find vehicles moving away from them. However, in their domain, the sensible thing to do is to mind your business and let them attend to their business. Normally wild elephants are the only animals that pose a threat whilst in a vehicle and the wild male buffalo or 'madaya' on foot or on a bicycle and the bear on rare occasions. I wonder whether these 'charms' would be effective and could be delivered in time when suddenly confronted with a charging 'madaya' or an enraged bear!. Recalling my days in the Dept, a major part of which was at Kataragama and Yala, where I retired as Park Warden, brings back memories of some of the noteworthy persons I had met. When the former office was housed in a corrugated iron structure the late Dudley Senanayake turned up one day with his friend the very tall Bevis Bawa, amusingly enough in a tiny little car, which he had difficulty getting in and out of. This was the time when Sinhala was declared the state language and the late Premier was pleasantly surprised when I made out the Park entry permit in Sinhala. It was to this very same office that Mr. Upali Senanayaka turned up one day with some friends to obtain permits to enter the Park. Whilst awaiting the completion of the necessary formalities, my pet mongoose who was on my lap got down for some serious exploratory work and entered one leg of Upali's baggy longs. Upali rocketed upwards off his seat and kept wriggling and stamping his feet in a vain attempt to dislodge the creature, which must have hung on for dear life. Anyway after this episode, the ladies in the party were almost hysterical with laughter, and would afterwards teasingly refer to the comical dance performed by Upali at the Yala office, much to his embarrassment. Some of the notable personalities I have had the privilege of meeting at Yala were the late Sir John Kotalawela, J. R. Jayewardene, R. Premadasa, Montague Jayawickrema, W. Dahanayaka, E. L. Senanayake, Sirisena Cooray, M. H. Mohamed, Anandatissa de Alwis, Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake, Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Punchinilames (Snr. and Susantha), Anura Bandaranaike, Rukman Senanayaka and Sajith Premadasa being some of the politicians. Other familiar names that come to my mind and who were some of the regular visitors to Yala include Robert and Upali Senanayaka, Sam Elapatha (Snr. and Jnr.) Dr. H. I. E. Katugaha, the Norrises, Hoffmans, Dr. T. S. U. de Zilva, former IGPs Richard Aluwihare, Osmund de Silva and wife, Noel de Costa, various Ambassadors and the Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his wife. Apart from all this I have also had my share of confrontations mainly with political big wigs of various hues and colours, where they tried to flout Park entry rules and regulations, with one such case even ending up in a Court of Law. I also vividly recall my period of service in the North of Sri Lanka way back in the 1960s. Whilst being stationed at Oddusuddan, I covered up the vast peaceful Forest Reserves in the Nedunkerni, Mankulam, Mullaitivu, Kokkilai, Puthukudiruppu, Killinochchi and Elephant Pass areas. I also served a spell of duties in the Madhu Road/Madhu Church areas whilst covering up the Mannar Range. Apart from the forested areas it was really pleasant travelling along the peaceful palmyrah palm fringed roads in the Jaffna and Mannar areas. It is really sand and disheartening to note that t these vast tracks of virgin forests have now turned out to be devastated battle fields resulting in nature and the environment, including the indigenous fauna and flora, being destroyed forever. My period of service in the Wilpattu National Park around the year 1972 lasted only about 8 months and was confined to the Pomparippu Range. This desolate outpost was known as the 'Siberia' of the Department and I felt. I was sent there as punishment for my involvement in Trade Union activities, which were not in accordance with the wishes of the Directorate. This relatively unimportant station was earlier manned by Junior Officers and I as a Game Ranger grade II being sent there surely had been to harass me and keep me out of the way. My appeal in this regard was shelved with an endorsement to the effect that the transfer was made in the interests and welfare of the Department. The closest public transport available to the Pomparippu staff was at the Eluvankulam village situated about 7 miles away, across desolate sandy plains and the Kala Oya river which had to be waded waist deep and was impassable when in spate. The other route through the Park was about 35 miles to the main road but we were not provided with Departmental transport. The coastal fishing hamlet of Kollankanatta was situated about 5 miles away from Pomparippu. When I happened to visit this village I found 2 rare 'baobab' trees in the vicinity. One tree was decaying and dying and I wonder whether the other trees still survives. These trees are supposed to have been introduced by Arab traders to Sri Lanka. I planted a cutting of this tree at Pomparippu, which sprouted but dried up later on. The massive 'baobab' tree in Mannar town is protected under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. At Pomparippu we were provided with the services of a small jeep, once a month after pay day, for the transport of our provisions and other necessities. This was hardly sufficient for my staff of 6 and myself to last even a month. Some of the other problems we faced at Pomparippu were unavailability of fresh vegetables, lack of proper transport when required and an ineffective communications system. I was transferred out of Pomparippu after about 8 months, probably after the Directorate realized, a bit too late, that my Trade Union activities were governed by principles and did not concern individuals. During my short period of service at Pomparippu, whenever we were free, I used to take my staff into the surrounding jungles to gather bee's honey, and a few of my staff were quite adept at this job. On these trips we gathered quite a lot of this stuff and at the end of the season found that each member's share amounted to more than a gallon of genuine bee's honey. These expeditions had mishaps too. In one instance Game Guard Seneviratne lost his way and returned to base after about 8 hours, thoroughly exhausted and worn out due to lack of food and drinking water, and of course in the meantime keeping us worried and anxious for several hours. Losing your way in the jungles when alone and unarmed is really dangerous due to the presence of wild animals that can be aggressive, mainly the solitary male buffalo 'madaya' or an enraged bear. Apart from this you are likely to go round in circles along animal tracks and get panicky as had happened in the case of Game Guard Seneviratne. Whilst at Pamparippu I had this kind of experience when venturing a bit too far into the vast Wilpattu jungles, and mind you when accompanied by staff who knew the area and who were well versed in jungle lore. The second instance was when G/G. Seneviratne and G/W. A. W. Hendrickappuhamy, had on the sly, gone to gather bee's honey from a hive high up on a tree. We did not know anything about this till this pair returned with disfigured and swollen faces and reported that they had been stung by wasps whilst up on the tree. They informed us that they had more or less fallen off the tree in their attempt to ward off these vicious insects and they had to be given an intensive course of medical treatment for these venomous stings. I was informed that Pomparippu in the Tamil language means 'golden grains' or golden paddy fields, of course in the days gone by. I also had information to the effect that archaeologists had unearthed some large clay pots or urns, containing remains of human beings on the Eluvankulam side of the Kala Oya, sometime back. These clay urns now lie at the archaeological museum at Anuradhapura. The various foregoing accounts presented are virtually few and far between and surely cannot explain a lifetime of devoted hard work in the Dept. of Wildlife Conservation. For me the yearning for the 'wild' still burns and time and age will not quell this fervour. The jungle is a place I long to keep going back to - a home away from home - a longing that exists even to this day, prompting me to spend my days of retirement in the company of nature and the salubrious jungle environment of Situlpahuwa, which of course is situated within the Ruhunu National Park, where I received my training and retired after being its Park Warden for close on 10 years. |
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