The southern coast of Sri Lanka is still largely untouched by tourism. We got there the day before Ramadan was over and the highway was practically empty because of last minute preparations. Eerie, but made for a quick drive. This was elephant day. Saw them in the wild by the highway, at the Natural Park, and at the Elephant Transit Home. The highway was new and very smooth. Electrified fences were erected to keep elephants away from the road. Guide said they push trees down on the wires and break the fence to cross over. People are not supposed to feed them, but we did see doing it. Guide said they are offered too many sweets and get diabetes . At the National Park, we got in safari vehicles to ride on. Very bumpy roads! Lots of birds. Saw many birds, including peacocks, a stork, and a vulture. Saw monkeys, water buffaloes, and of course! Elephants! There are 44 mammal species and 215 bird species. Weather was perfect. Warm but not hot and steamy.
After we left the park we went to a great resort hotel for a buffet lunch. Boy, was it good! We go back on the bus and went to the Elephant Transit Home to see the elephants being fed. This facility is different from the one we saw a few days ago. The elephants here are put back into the wild. They have a lot of little elephants and just a few grown ones to keep them in line. They live in their own space except for being fed three times a day. There is a viewing stand for the audience that pays for admission. That is the way they can afford to feed the elephants. They are all fed a formula milk and also have leaves and special grains that make sure they are getting all their nutrients. They gather at the fence and are admitted from little to biggest. One very little one was being pushed aside from where there were some greenery was placed eating in front the viewing stand. Two larger ones came over and protected her by standing with her between them. It was so sweet to see. She managed to tear a leaf off a branch and was trying to get it into her mouth. When she successfully did that, we cheered!
Where in the world is Dalna 