Safari!

No sooner had my feet touched the ground after my elephant ride, than I was whisked into a jeep and driven a short distance to Minneriya National Wildlife Park.
This nearly 22000 acre (8890 hectare) area is home to over 400 species of birds

on land



(Colorful as a parrot but wrong beak. Pretty whatever he is.)

in the air



(I was told this was an eagle.
And this is definitely an eagle’s nest.)



and,near the Minneriya tank (reservoir), built in the 3rd century AD by King Mahasena
ibises and storks are plentiful.



Water buffalo use the Tank, too.



As do fishermen.



But, they were not what I had come to see.
I had been promised elephants.
September is the end of the dry season in this area. The tank attracts elephants from far and wide whose normal drinking places have dried up.
Ah there’s one.

A male, I was told. Males live alone after about age 12 to 15 and only “visit” females at 16 week intervals when mating can take place. Not every female is interested, each time, of course. The gestation period for an elephant is 22 months -- ensuring the young will be born in the rainy season -- and the mother feeds her baby for two or three years. The females live together in groups that stay close throughout their lifetime. The oldest female is the head of the group and all the elephants help take care of all the babies, though, of course, their own mother nurses them.
But where were they?
Ah!



The jeep drivers gathered and soon small herds of tourists were watching small herds of elephants.



Most of them were eating while we watched.



They had no time to lose. Elephants need between 149 and 169 kg (330-375 lb.) of vegetation each day and spend nearly 80% of their waking hours feeding.
Suddenly, as if at a signal, some of them trotted off to the Tank.



They looked like they were enjoying themselves – especially the baby.



The guide said that the groups go in the water together one group at a time. Very organized.
We watched them until it was time to leave.
What a great afternoon.