by Dianthi S. U. Wijeratne

I am grateful to my parents for encouraging me to appreciate nature. Both of them are great enthusiasts of wildlife and, as a result, our journeys to the wilds began at a very tender age.

One of my childhood memories is of an incident in 1973 where my family consisting of my parents, two brothers, sister and myself traveled to Yala in a car. At the time the roads were not like what they are in the park today. They were quite narrow and the surface was uneven. There was very little traffic unlike today.

I distinctly remember the tracker guiding my father into a little-used side-road. On the way we came across a large bull elephant, and the tracker told us that it was in musth. Usually bull elephants go through this process periodically when a thick fluid oozes from a gland between the eye and ear. Musth is an Urdu word which means `disoriented’. In other words, the elephant has no control over its mind. It is said that this period could last from a month to a year. During this time it makes the animal unpredictable and destructive, and is generally a time for it to attack whoever crosses its path.

As we were passing the animal it flapped its ears and the next thing we knew was that it was charging us. We children were small but excited and scared. My father was driving the car, and I remember my mother showing him the potholes in order to avoid them. However, in the excitement he drove over them, with much jolting of the vehicle. The tracker warned my parents that the road was a dead end, and this was not very soothing news, specially considering the situation we were in. Fortunately, by the time we turned and came back the angry elephant had retreated into the jungle much to the relief of all of us.

Camping at Wasgamuwa

As years went by we no longer traveled in cars to the jungle, but in four-wheel drive vehicles. In any case we were all grown up and could not be accommodated comfortably in a car. The trips too became more adventurous and exciting, with camping trips with family members and friends thrown in.

Our first trip to Wasgomuwa was in 1992 when we drove through the National Park on our way back from a trip to Polonnaruwa and a visit to the old Veddha chief, Uruwarigey Tissahamy in Dambane.

The Wasgamuwa Park is situated in the North Central Province in the extreme south-east corner of Tamankaduwa. It is bounded by the rivers, Mahaweli Ganga, Amban Ganga, Kalu Ganga and Wasgamuwa Oya, and was declared a National Park in August 1984. It was only in 1992 that it was opened to the public. Close to the park, on the way to Hasalaka, one would notice Minisgala which, as its name implies, is a rock depicting an upturned human face. The road to the park was in an appalling condition that year.

The only living creatures we managed to see in the park at that time were some deer and a python. The latter was on the main road within the park, and looked like a log. It was in the same position when we returned about an hour later. We did not have the privilege of seeing any elephants, though it was known to be a favourite habitat. The park was fairly new at the time and did not have any bungalows within for public use.

Yudaganawa

Within the park, a place with a historical significance was Yudaganawa, which is a vast plain with small black rocks visible here and there. The main road within the park passed through it. It was believed to be the venue of King Dutugemunu’s famous battle with King Elara, where the latter was defeated. In the mornings, when the sun shines at an angle, the glare from the pebbles is red, and legend attributes this colour to the blood of soldiers killed or wounded in the battle at this site.

My father had visited the dispensary in Marake on official duty about 35 years ago. The apothecary, as well as some of his officials had told him at the time, that elephants often visited the area, and a place called Yudaganawa, where an ancient battle took place, was only a short distance away from the dispensary.

I heard from Dr. Walter R. Gooneratne that the dispensary has since been moved to a new place, and that the old dispensary building, which my father had visited, had later been converted into a bungalow within the Wasgamuwa National Park, close to its entrance.

Camping

Our second visit to Wasgamuwa Park was on a camping trip. This meant that more effort was needed when planning out the menus, bedding, tents, camping gear and so on. We set off early in the morning, as we always did. I remember that the main road to the park was in a much better condition than on the previous occasion. We reached the park by afternoon. I expected the campsite to be similar to the one at Yala, but it was not up to that standard.

In Wasgamuwa there was actually nothing to indicate that it was a campsite. As always, each of us had a task to perform. We contributed by getting the place swept, cleaned and organized. This was not a problem since ekel brooms too were part of our camping equipment. It was the dry season and setting fire to the dried leaves was not a safe procedure.

The Mahaweli, which flows by the campsite, had dwindled to a mere stream with large extents of sand exposed. Since trees surrounded the campsite the heat of the sun was not unbearable.

On this particular trip we managed to see a few elephants, with one in particular making a mock charge at us at a place called Sansthapitiya.

According to what we heard from the villagers, the human-elephant conflict was very much a threat to both parties. The roaming elephants had attacked many villagers. Chena cultivators apparently burned gunny bags and dropped them on elephants from their watch-huts in the trees in order to chase them away from their cultivations. Is it any wonder why elephants attack humans? It is said that an elephant never forgets.

One evening, while returning to our camp in the fading light, we saw a herd of deer by the side of the road. As we were approaching it, a deer suddenly dashed on to the road in front of us with another spotted animal in hot pursuit. The latter somersaulted and skidded in front of our vehicle and then ran back into the jungle from where it came. It was a spectacular scene of a leopard chasing its dinner, which it missed due to our presence.

Our third and final trip to Wasgamuwa was in May 1998. Everything was planned well ahead of time, since the preparations were very elaborate as we were embarking on another camping trip. We set off to Wasgamuwa in four four-wheel pick-up trucks. Each vehicle was packed with luggage, iceboxes, tents and foodstuffs.

We reached the campsite early, and this gave us ample time to pitch tents. Afterwards we decided on a bath in the river that was always on the agenda when it came to camping. Those who took beer and hot drinks enjoyed it the most, warming themselves from within and cooling from without while having a dip in the river. Next, we sat down to a sumptuous meal prepared by the cook who went with us, of course helped by the ladies as always.

Attack by an elephant

After our late lunch, the senior members of the party, including my father, Dr. Walter R. Gooneratne and Mr.Vernon Edirisinghe, made a decision that we could go for a quick round in the park. Ten of us managed to get into two vehicles leaving Mr. Senath Abegunawardena behind. My younger brother, Dishana with my mother and three gentlemen in it, drove my father’s Toyota. My husband, Rohan was at the wheel of our Mitsubishi with a young tracker by his side. Dr. Gooneratne, my father, Lakmali and myself were in the back seat.

We, who were in the lead vehicle, were taken along a narrow path when we encountered two large elephants with their backs facing us. The tracker wanted us to turn around suspecting they might attack us. My father came, to the conclusion that they possibly could be elephants from the Somawathiya National Park. Since the tracker mentioned that they were female elephants, the possibility that they were members of a herd was strong. It is a known fact that female elephants stay together with small baby elephants, but not with mature males.

Elephants have attacked vehicles many a time within the park. This knowledge did not deter our young tracker who knew very well that the party, which was very enthusiastic and loved wildlife, was willing to take risks. He therefore guided us to Sansthapitiya, which was a vast plain of grass with jungle bordering all round. At the time the sun was setting beyond the hills and nightlife was just beginning to manifest itself. I had my reservations about going to see wildlife at that time of day. Further, all of us were very tired at the time, having travelled most of the day.

There was nothing much to be seen except the bare plains and the jungle, which was about 50 metres away from the road. Everyone was straining his or her eyes ti catch a glimpse of an animal if there was one, when my husband suddenly spotted an elephant. Though we looked in the direction he pointed, we could not see it and neither did the tracker. My brother had followed closely behind our vehicle, in order to see what we were looking at.

The all of a sudden, without any warning, there came toward our vehicle a black ball of an elephant, all curled up and running as fast as its huge legs could carry it. Its ears were like large palm leaves flapping in the air, back and ford with its trunk and tail raised. The tracker got off the vehicle and started shouting and hitting the bonnet with his hands, but it was of no avail. The angry animal kept running directly towards us. The tracker, who was desperate and excited as all of us were, asked my husband to reverse the vehicle.

Reverse he did in haste, as was instructed. There was a thud and we all jolted. We had crashed into my father’s brand new vehicle, which was behind us. Well, that was more than we could stomach at a time like that, with a raging elephant still charging towards us. When my brother tried to reverse he could not move the vehicle. The buffer had been pushed backwards and it jammed the wheels. Then all of a sudden I could see a head with an enormous pair of ears flapping and fiery red eyes in front of our vehicle.

The angry beast looked at my husband who was frozen in his seat, then lowered its head, pushed it into the region of the right mudguard and then raised it up. With the power of the impact, the right side of the entire vehicle was lifted up, so that for a moment it stood only on the two wheels on the left side. We were all dumbstruck. I am sure everyone held his or her breath in shock and fear as I did. The angry animal then released the right side of the vehicle, hurriedly turned back, trumpeted in a frightful manner, lifted its trunk and tail and ran back into the jungle from where it came. It took only a few seconds for all this to happen, nevertheless the damage was vast.

We sat in our vehicle wondering what would happen next and how we were to get my father’s vehicle back to the campsite. Its radiator was bashed in and the buffer was damaged. No one dared to get down, not knowing where that brute of an animal was hiding and watching, maybe to attack again. From the time we reached the park, members of our party tried to get through to their homes in Colombo, but there were no signals on the mobile telephones.

The irony at that moment was that we managed to get a signal on the telephone and contacted the park office. The tracker informed the official of our plight, and the location we were in. He was quite shaken up, but for our luck he remembered the telephone number of the office. If he had not, I dread to think what could have happened next.

We were so relieved to see the rescue party, which included the park warden himself and his deputy. They spoke to all of us and asked us to be calm. The elephant had damaged the mudguard and the bonnet of our vehicle. We were more than lucky that only our vehicles were damaged and none of us was hurt. After inspecting the damage a person from the rescue party picked up a piece of the broken number plate and drew a line across the road in front of our vehicle, and recited a mantram. It was some kind of a protective charm considering the situation.

By this time the rest of the herd that had been hiding and probably watching us, came out on to the road one by one. This made us more nervous. One of the elephants did a mock charge slowly coming towards our vehicle. The rescue party left nothing to chance. Its members and the tracker together banged and thumped on our bonnet and with screams managed to chase them away. With the guidance of Dr. Gooneratne, my brother managed to steer the vehicle, which was towed to the trackers’ beat that was within walking distance from the campsite. The rescue party consoled us and once we were settled in camp they took leave of us at about 7.30 pm.

Our next step was to have a bath in the river, but that too was not possible, for just below the campsite, on the sand bank next to where we usually had a bath, was a large estuary crocodile. All hopes of washing away the aches and soothing the mental pain disappeared. Tension was quite high in the camp. The slightest thing triggered off my husband. I suppose it was unavoidable considering what we had gone through.

(To be continued) (Excerpted from Jungle Journeys in Sri Lanka edited by C.G. Uragoda)