Giants of the forest

Out of all the animals living on the Earth, the elephant is believed to be the wisest; second only to humans. It not only has good memory power, but also a level of intelligence said to be on par with that of the dolphin. A fully grown elephant is said to have the same level of intelligence as a child of 8 to 10 years.

It is also one of the most famous animals on Earth and is related to the mammoth which lived in the past and which is now extinct. The mammoth was very similar in shape and appearance to the elephant.

The name 'elephant' is derived from the Greek word 'ele' which means 'arch' and 'phant' meaning 'very big' or giant. In Sinhala these giants of the jungle are known by many names, it is called 'Hasthi' in Sanskrit. The elephant is popularly called jumbo in Africa and in some other countries. Some also call it 'Tembo.' Scientifically, it is classified under the Proboscidae family, it means an animal with a trunk.

All of you must have seen a lot of this animal lately, especially because the perahera season has just concluded.

Elephants live in regions such as Africa, and Asia which have hot climates. African elephants are much bigger than the Asian ones, and they also have bigger ears, so it is easy to differentiate the African elephants from the Asian elephants.

Did you know that all African elephants have tusks whereas in Asia, only some male elephants have prominent tusks? In females, these tusks may be rather small or absent altogether. Sri Lanka is known to have the largest elephant population in a small area.

In Sri Lanka, elephants play a big role in Sinhala Buddhist culture. The connection between man and elephant goes back in time. History records how our ancestors tamed elephants and used them in their day-to-day activities.

Our kings used them in wars, to travel about and also for agricultural and other heavy work, such as carrying logs and large rocks. These pachyderms were used to carry the Sacred Tooth Relic from the time of kings.

In ancient wars in our country, the elephant formed one of the four troops known as the Chaturangani. In Sinhala, the four troops were eth, as, riya and pabala (elephants, horses, carriages and foot soldiers).

Elephants from 'Heladeepa' as Sri Lanka was known then, are said to have formed the main strength of the army of Alexander the Great of Greece. It is reported that these elephants were shipped to Greece from the Fort in Manthei, today's Mannar.

These animals played a key role in the construction of dams too. They were used to drag the huge plugs of the dams and also to trap and roll the first layers of soil in the foundation of the dam.

Ancient kings also used elephants to punish criminals. In fact, it was one of the thirty two punishments used in the ancient kingdoms of our land. They were also used for various games such as elephant fights, (eth pora), one of the most interesting among the royal games organised during the times of our kings.

Although it lives in dry areas, due to its high body temperature, it prefers to be in the water. You may have often seen them cooling off in rivers and also caking themselves with mud to keep themselves cool.

The elephant, as explained before, has a strong connection with water. It is a good swimmer. It likes to stay in the water for hours. It needs about 250 litres of water a day for drinking. Going to water holes or rivers in their area is one of the major activities in their daily lives.

During the day time, they live among big trees, sheltered from the heat. They get rest for a short time by sleeping. In the mornings and evenings, they generally roam about foraging for food. On average, an elephant walks about 10 km per day and eats about 500 kg of leaves or grass. Eating in the open land is the favourite pastime of most elephants.

They like to eat leaves, the bark of trees and fruits. Although they like to eat tender branches of trees, only 45 per cent of it is digested because elephants have a weak digestive system. Their faecal matter or elephant dung is however very good for the environment. It is also used to produce a special paper.

The elephant has a lifespan of around 60-75 years. Although it is a very large animal, you may have noticed that it has small eyes. Its eyesight is also poor. Its range of visibility is very limited and therefore it can't see beyond a distance of 35 metres. But its hearing and sense of smell are excellent.

Secretary, Elephant Owners Association, Dhamsiri Bandara explained that elephants, which are social animals, and live in large families called herds are normally led by the oldest female in the herd.

There are no adult males in a herd; they usually leave the herd at a certain age. If not, it is chased away by the others. So the herd comprises females, young males and baby elephants.

Any male elephant that is chased away from the herd roams on its own and sometimes becomes very troublesome to villagers. It is called a rogue elephant or Thani Aliya or Thaniya in Sinhala among the villagers.

Bandara explained that once a female elephant gives birth to a single offspring after a gestation period of 22-24 months, the others in the herd support the mother to take care of the offspring, just as much as they help her during the pregnancy.

He added that it's believed that when a baby is born to one female, all other females in the herd produce milk for the baby elephant. A baby is about three feet in height at birth. It needs about 20-30 litres of milk daily for about four years.

Although elephants live in large herds, it is a common sight to see a 'trio' (Thumpath rane). Earlier it was believed that the trio was made up of the male, the female and their baby, they were therefore thought to be very aggressive as they were protecting the baby. But today it is believed that the trio comprises the mother, the new-born baby and the previous offspring.

Elephant classification in Sri Lanka

Aliya - A male without the large tusks but with two smaller tusks.

Kenera - A female with small tusks.

Eka danthaya - An elephant with one tusk.

Etha - The one with tusks.

Sussa - A male without tusks or smaller tusks.

Ali dena - A female without even the smaller tusks.

Kuru etha - A very rare, small-bodied elephant with tusks.

Vil aliya - Lives around lakes (vil). In size, it’s the biggest in Asia.

Dala puttuwa - A crossed tusker which is very rare.

Kurundu etha - Trumpets, no tusks, but has a broad or large back.