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| Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
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The white elephant and conservation measures at Yala
The thick grey hides of the other elephants provided sharp contrast to this female's light-coloured body. Janaka, because of his work with an elephant research team in the outskirts of Yala, knew the importance of this sighting. What the villagers called a 'cheena (Chinese)' elephant was indeed a rare albino animal. They had found the white elephant- after many, many years without a single sighting. This 'white' elephant is the only recorded and known free-ranging wild elephant with albino characteristics in the world. Newborn This elephant, whose sighting became a household topic a few months ago, was first seen as a newborn in 1993. The baby was sighted with a herd at Heen Wewa, inside the Yala National Park, by a research team that included Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando. In the water, the young calf's 'white' colour was very obvious. Although this team spent long hours in the park doing individual identification of elephants, this albino baby was not spotted again until 1996. The calf, now a four-foot juvenile, was spotted by a group of visitors to Yala National Park. She was in the water, and now the contrast between her and the rest of the herd was striking.
The research team is casually tracking the animal to have a general idea of its whereabouts. "But the scrub is thick and at times we lose track of the entire herd for weeks," said Janaka. Later they hope to collect dung samples for genetic analysis. "This is a method that we have successfully used to conduct genetic research on elephants. Not just on individuals, but on populations and entire ranges across Asia," Dr. Fernando said. The Department of Wildlife Conservation is willing to collaborate with a research effort of this type said Director, Dayananda Kariyawasam. "This is a rare and excellent opportunity for research. Albinism is rare in the wild. In elephants, it is extremely so and raises a lot of national and international interest for more studies on this phenomenon," said Kariyawasam. Albino The white elephant's herd, numbers around 17 females and young ones at present. The albino elephant is in reproductive age, being around 11 years old. She shows no abnormalities in behaviour, except for the colour. She shows no signs of having any trouble with sight (as some albino animals do) or any difference in her interactions with the rest of the herd. The white is not a bright white but a light tan. However, the animal shows incomplete albinism in the black hairs of her tail tuft. Although she is old enough to bear a calf, it is not clear whether she has mated or is pregnant at present, said Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando, who heads the elephant research team based at Tissamaharama. "Since elephants have a gestation period of 22 months, the animal will have to be closely watched for signs of pregnancy in the coming years." The team studying elephant ecology with special emphasis on human-elephant conflict, consider the white elephant's herd to display typical ranging behaviour of elephants that use both the national park and the adjoining chena lands for grazing. Close contact This kind of ranging pattern, in-and-out-of-protected-areas, brings elephants into close contact with humans. But in the Yala periphery an interesting resource sharing occurs between the human inhabitants- largely seasonal chena farmers- and the elephants. During the wet season, when chenas are being cultivated, many of the elephants use the Yala National Park for food. But as the dry season sets in, food becomes scarce and there is more competition for the limited food available inside the park. Consequently many elephants wander out in to the chena fields - now left fallow - to feed upon the leftover vegetable matter and the scrub regrowth. The white elephant's herd, a typical group of related females and their offspring, also display this patterns of ranging. All the recent sightings have occurred outside the national park, in the periphery scrub jungles and fallow chenas dotted with ancient tanks providing water for the animals and few people who stay on during the dry season. Since most farmers move back to the villages and towns after they harvest the chena crop, the conflict between man and elephant in these areas is minimised. Unfortunately, herds like the white elephant's group may become threatened by current management practices that envisage confining animals within the boundaries of the park at all seasons. Conservationists point out that trying to keep too many elephants confined to the park boundaries during the dry season, may hamper their chances of survival in the long term. *** Albinism - nature's freaks? Albinism can be classified as complete and incomplete (as in the white 'cheena' elephant in Yala). In complete albinism there is a total absence of the pigment melanin, causing lack of any skin and hair colour and problems with eyesight. It is now recognized that there are six (or so) genes that are involved in the production of melanin and mutations (genetic defects) of any of these genes can cause forms of albinism. **** White elephants in Asia The best known white elephants live in Thailand, where they have served as Royal animals for ages. These elephants are distinguished by a range of physical characteristics of which the light body colour is but one. In the past such 'special' elephants were sometimes gifted to noblemen by the King. Since these elephants could not be used for work or income generation, they were a drain on the families that received them, hence the phrase 'white elephant'. White elephants occupy a special place in Eastern lore and mythology. Especially in Buddhism and Hinduism. Even the conception of the Buddha is depicted in Buddhist tales as a dream by his mother, Queen Mahamaya, of a white baby elephant. by Tharuka Dissanayake 'Conservation Commons' : open source for nature A unique coalition of organisations from around the world is committing to sharing data, information, and knowledge in new ways intended to improve the effectiveness of conservation. The creation of a 'Conservation Commons' was announced at the 3 rd IUCN World Conservation Congress, in Bangkok. BirdLife International, the Mexican National Commission of Biodiversity, the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Conservation International, UN Development Program, the Natural History Museum (London), the Brazilian Center for Environmental Information (CRIA), NASA, WWF International, Chevron-Texaco and many others have come together to endorse common principles calling for free and open access to conservation information. Data and information required for effective conservation is fragmented and difficult to find. The initiative seeks to break down barriers to access, to more effectively connect users of conservation data to the information they need and to adopt new standards for integrating knowledge and experience. "Achieving success in conserving the world's biodiversity for future generations depends on coordinated action to mobilise and integrate biodiversity data to address the practical needs of different stakeholders and decision-makers," said Christoph Houser, Chair of the Executive Committee, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)."Addressing threats to biodiversity requires best available information for effective conservation action on the ground," said Tom Moritz, Director of Libraries for the American Museum of Natural History and a key participant in establishing the Conservation Commons. "Vast stores of existing information and data are not accessible to conservationists and decision makers. Leveraging existing information assets and creating new ones will produce huge benefits for future conservation." More importantly, this entire database is available to the general public in what is becoming a cornerstone in a `Conservation Commons" - a space dedicated to the free exchange of conservation-relevant information," she said. Eco-Personality Reuters-IUCN Environmental Media Awards : Tom Knudson judged the best Princess Takamado, Honorary President of BirdLife International, awarded the global 2004 Reuters- IUCN Award for Excellence in Environmental Reporting to Tom Knudson of the United States. Knudson's article, State of Denial, a thorough investigation into California's consumption patterns and their environmental footprint on other parts of the world, saw him walk away with US$ 5,000 cash prize. State of Denial was selected as the best by a Global Master Jury, which considered six articles, representing Latin America, North America and Oceania, Europe, Asia, English-speaking Africa and the Middle East, and French-speaking Africa. The other five finalists, who were present at the ceremony, also received trophies and certificates. Presenting the Award at a Ceremony held in Bangkok, early this month where IUCN is hosting its World Conservation Congress, Princess Takamado described the competition as one that highlights success stories in the quest to improve the wellbeing of the planet and its people. "Through this prize, Reuters and IUCN challenge journalists to report on the complex issues of environmental degradation, threats to the diversity of life, poverty, inequity and conflict. It encourages both the experts and the media to look beyond the headlines to provide information and provoke action," Princess Takamado said. She said this year's submissions addressed some of the world's global environmental threats: water scarcity and pollution, climate change, the world's production and consumption patterns, the hazards of `business as usual' and international efforts aimed bringing an end to the loss of animals and plants and their habitats. Tom Knudson is a staff writer with the Sacramento Bee, a newspaper based in California's capital of Sacramento. His specialty is in-depth reporting on national and global environmental issues - a, beat that has taken him from the deserts of West Africa to the tropics of the Amazon, from Canada's boreal forest to Mexico's Sea of Cortez. Over the years, his work has been cited for numerous honours, including two Pulitzer prizes, two National Press Club awards and a World Hunger Media Award. He began his journalism career at the Des Moines Register after graduating from Iowa State University in 1980. After a two-year stint at The New York Times, Knudson became an environmental reporter at the Bee in 1988. The Awards, established in 1998 by Reuters Foundation and IUCN, aim to help raise global awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues, by encouraging high standards in environmental reporting worldwide. No mining at Bogawantalawa Oya The National Gems and Jewellery Authority (NGJA) has taken action to stop the environmentally destructive large-scale gem mining that was taking place at Bogawantalawa after the Environmental Foundation Ltd (EFL) threatened to take legal action, states an EFL press release. The gemming was being carried out on the left bank of the Bogawantalawa Oya, on Chapelton Estate at Bogawantalawa in the Ginigathena Division of Nuwara Eliya District. Considerable damage had been caused to the environment by this activity. An area of approximately 10 hectares (25 acres), between 50 and 300 metres (160 and 1000 feet) from the left shoreline of the Bogawantalawa Oya was dotted with gem pits of up to and over 100 feet (30 metres) depth. In between the gem pits were heaps of earth which had been excavated from the pits using backhoe loaders; this soil was being washed into the river as silt, causing excessive turbidity and sedimentation. EFL, as a non-profit-making organisation dedicated to the protection of the environment in the public interest, wrote to the Chairperson of the NGJA, with copies to the Chairperson and Director General of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), warning that this activity could cause the Castlereagh reservoir to get silted up. Subsequently, EFL wrote to the Director General of the CEA, with copies to the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Chairperson, NGJA, the Chairperson of the CEA and the District Secretary, Nuwara Eliya, asking that action be taken. Finally, on 12th November 2004, EFL wrote to the Chairperson, NGJA threatening legal action, since the NGJA had issued licences to the gem miners. The Chairperson of the NGJA replied to EFL on 18th November 2004, stating that remedial measures were being taken. The restoration by earth filling of the area of the Bogawantalawa Oya reservation had been started and licensees were instructed not to divert water back to the river, action being taken against licensees who encroached on the reservation. Two Enforcement Officers were being stationed at Bogawantalawa to supervise mining activities and the police and the Raid Team of the NGJA had been ordered to raid illicit mines, the use of backhoe loaders had been stopped and steps were being taken to close all the pits. |
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The young man was thrilled to see her. In the low scrub, not very far
from his parent's farm in Yodakandiya, the 'cheena aliya' was grazing with
her herd. Janaka climbed a tree to get a better look. The difference in
colour was very obvious.
While the first sightings were inside Yala National Park, the most
recent sightings by H. K. Janaka and the scientists involved in the
research project, have all been in the outskirts or periphery of the
National Park. "The herd with the white elephant frequently comes out
only after dusk and in the night," Janaka said. "It is very
difficult to spot her at that time."
