Endearing Elies

Date: Author: Category: Animals, Elephants, Sri Lanka, The Atlas Game, The Quintessential Sri Lanka, Travel, Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Within a couple of days of our arrival on the island, we were under siege, it seemed, by an eli charm offensive Happy elephant - Kitul for dinner What could be more endearing than a happy elephant?  A baby elephant!

If I wasn’t yet totally captivated by Paradise, this baby, recently arrived at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, captivated me with his trunk weaving practice. I never cooed like that over a human baby.
Thumb sucking never looked so cute

Even elephants in stone were endearing

Even Stone Elephants Play with Water – 7th Century Bas Relief, Isurumuniya Temple, Anuradhapura
Frisky elephants, 12th century Moonstone – Polonnaruwa

Years ago, in a bid to turn recycled elephant dung paper into a viable business, a designer came up with a series of endearing drawings

Endearing 8

Fittingly, it was elies which ultimately persuaded my mother to abandon her long, and vehemently held, antipathy to my island Paradise

This herd of elephants, grazing on the lush grass growing on the floor of the receding Mineriya Tank mesmerised us for a piece of eternity. Spellbound, we sat in open-mouthed silence, just watching, marvelling.

 

32 thoughts on “Endearing Elies”

    • Knowing that they are breeding in the wild is wonderful, though a tragedy that any of the babies are maimed or orphaned because of ‘man’. It’s so heartening that the darlings can be brought to a herd at the orphanage. The next task is to build decent safe corridors for them to travel … Now, the eli dung paper – I’m not sure if they ‘export’ it, but it’s widely available in Colombo stores now – isn’t that terrific?

    • Oh, Angeline you’ve said it! Being around them, rubbing their foreheads, letting them sniff your hair – being breathed on (!!!) – is probably the most exciting thing … even more than the whales, though I’ve yet to cuddle one of them

  4. Now, Meredith ! – you got me all confused ! If you called ’em
    ELES
    I would have no problem ! [grin]
    These are super pic.s, and the fact of your winning your ancient ma around is terrific. GOODONYER !!!

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  7. Great elephant shots- I love them too. I am intrigues by your last sentence. Did your mother actually visit to see the elephants? Or just give up her antipathy? There’s a story there.

    • Yes! After Dad died and we were in need of a bit of a break she suggested we go to Sri Lanka (not quite as simple or gracious as that, but …. ). The people tried, but she wasn’t melting, the gardens bloomed in fantasmagorical abundance, but she wasn’t melting … the elies though, they had other ideas, and warmed her up at Pinnawala where she actually stood face to face with a darling old girl with the longest lashes – but it was these wild guys, grazing and frolicking at Mineriya for all the world as though there weren’t a dozen cameras aimed at them … I saw her shrug, Francesca, and then her face just beamed in glee. She looked more like a 7 year old, not a 97 year old. It was extraordinary. Not that she couldn’t find things to criticise when she got home! 🙂

  9. Oh – rearing a baby elephant! That would be just – wonderful! Thanks so much for this story, and I’m so glad to be able to comment on blogs again. I have missed you.

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