Elephant country

How to describe a place as beautiful as this? I'm in Wasgamuwa national park in Sri Lanka. Woke up at 5.30am to see the sunrise. There are wild dogs howling and insects chirruping, like a wall of sound. The heat is pervasive and constant. I saw wild elephants for the first time two days ago, just gallumphing about at the edge of the forest. A tightly packed herd. Then one of the males detached and emerged at a different point, to watch a member of our group watching them. We have found their sleeping places in the forest. They are wise and they are intelligent and they recycle everything they consume to fertilise the land. We should learn from them. The dog in this picture is called Sudo. Just one of many, many friendly dogs I have met.

Note: this post was originally published 30th September 2016.

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