Our Beginning
In 2005, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Shermin de Silva returned to her home country of Sri Lanka hoping to study the animals that she had grown up taking for granted: Asian elephants. They were such a pervasive part of the culture, and captive Asian elephants so seemingly commonplace, that it was surprising that very little was understood about the behavior of wild Asian elephants. Udawalawe National Park, with its spacious savanna-like environment and teeming elephant population, seemed the perfect place to start a study. In what was then the sleepy village of Udawalawe, the Udawalawe Elephant Research Project (UWERP) was initiated in collaboration with Dr. Devaka Weerakoon of the University of Colombo.
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By the time her PhD was completed in 2010, it was evident that the Asian elephants at Udawalawe didn't behave as expected, based on the many prior studies of their cousins, the African savanna elephants. UWERP was among the first to document the social structure of wild Asian elephants, and the ways in which they communicate. It also uncovered the surprising finding that there were probably twice as many elephants using the national park than was previously thought! The data from these studies played an important role in a 2008 Sri Lankan Supreme Court case that prevented encroachment of a sanctuary attached to the National Park, and prevented it from being de-listed.
Elephant heaven? It felt that way.
It was also evident that Udawalawe was a rapidly changing environment. Established in 1970 primarily to protect the Udawalawe Reservoir, the national park was bisected by the mighty Walawe river, one of the four major rivers of Sri Lanka. Following the dam, the original deciduous forest that had covered the entire southern region was gradually replaced with plantations, agriculture, and permanent settlements. Meanwhile, the vegetation in the park was changing too, with grasses and shrubs that were nutritious for elephants being overtaken by the invasive lantana.
The post-war economic boom in the late 2000s brought crowds of tourists and prosperity to those who could capitalize on it. But so-called human-elephant conflict was creating hardship among the farmers, who clearly benefited least from the park or its elephants. Electric fences started encircling the park, and nightly battles were waged between the people and risk-taking bulls. These issues were not unique to Udawalawe, it was happening throughout the range of Asian elephants.
The post-war economic boom in the late 2000s brought crowds of tourists and prosperity to those who could capitalize on it. But so-called human-elephant conflict was creating hardship among the farmers, who clearly benefited least from the park or its elephants. Electric fences started encircling the park, and nightly battles were waged between the people and risk-taking bulls. These issues were not unique to Udawalawe, it was happening throughout the range of Asian elephants.
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What Will It Take To Protect Asia's Elephants?Trunks & Leaves was founded by Dr. de Silva in 2012 to support pioneering research on Asian elephant behavior and ecology. These studies fill a major gap in elephant research and public attention, which focused either on African elephants, or the conditions of captive elephants.
Trunks & Leaves was created out of the need to build a greater understanding about the needs of wild Asian elephants, as well as greater public awareness of the threats to their ecosystems and sustainable long-term solutions. We continue to be one of the few organizations focused on wild Asian elephants, with a strong research foundation underlying all of the work we do. In parallel with these initiatives, our goal is to work with agricultural communities to develop more sustainable land-use practices and livelihood strategies so that elephants can continue to roam in these landscapes. |
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-Helen Keller
