Believed to be the largest congregation of wild elephants in the world, the gathering is sort of a Maha Kumbh of elephants. It has been taking place for hundreds of years, much before the Lonely Planet listed it among the top ten wildlife spectacles of the world. The list and the ranking made it a worldwide sensation. Látrabjarg bird cliffs in Iceland, monarch butterfly roosts in Mexico, king penguin rookery in South Atlantic, great migration in Serengeti, brown bears feasting in Alaska, bats of Deer Cave in Malaysia and salmon run in South Africa are among the ones that made the list. The famed travel guide has listed the topmost dazzling visions of the wild, and the nearest to us is the gathering.
For centuries, the wild elephants of Sri Lanka have been in the habit of getting together at the north-central Minneriya water reserve in the Minneriya national park. The reservoir was built by the farsighted King Mahasen in the 3rd century AD as this area is part of a dry zone. Today, the Minneriya tank, spread over 8,900 hectares, sustains a considerably large majority of wildlife in the peak summer months. As the water recedes in summertime, grass fields take its place. The elephants are attracted towards this rich, fertile land, which caters to all their needs during the dry spell. Elephas maximus maximus (not to be confused by Maximus of Gladiator!) or the Sri Lankan elephant is one of the subspecies of the Asian elephant.
From July to September, which is a drought time, these elephants gather on the shores of the reservoir. Big herds emerge from the woods, led by their respective matriarchs, one after the other. They travel from far and wide to attend the yearly fair. There are calves, adults and adolescents, and their numbers can go up to 600 at the peak of the drought. Most males of this subspecies don’t have tusks. But you witness a colourful cast of characters here, as they mingle, rumble, feast on the snack of fresh grass, spray themselves with muddy water and have a hell of a good time. One or two exhuberant suitors in heat go around sniffing females at all indiscreet places. Two babies might link their trunks in a snake dance or a gentleman may saunter your way blowing his own trumpet.
The most thrilling moment for us was when a disturbed female (she’d once lost a child to a safari jeep), standing alone at a distance, charged at us. Another jeep had recklessly approached her too close. Two jeeps collided behind us trying to escape and our jeep had to go inside the tall grass, bang in front of the trumpeting elephant, to take a turn! John Muir had said that the clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness. In those brief breathless moments, we did see our way clear…right up to the heavens, or maybe hell, given our track record!
You say you’re not prepared for any risk and high wattage action in what you expect to be a sombre, family-oriented gathering? Then I must say, you’re ignoring the elephant in the room.
The writer is author of fiction and non-fiction books, and Ex-Hon. Wildlife Warden, Udaipur