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Quote - Joseph Pulitzer

"PUT IT BEFORE THEM BRIEFLY SO THEY WILL READ IT, CLEARLY SO THEY WILL APPRECIATE IT, PICTURESQUELY SO THEY WILL REMEMBER IT AND, ABOVE ALL, ACCURATELY SO THEY WILL BE GUIDED BY ITS LIGHT" ***** JOSEPH PULITZER *****
DISCOVER - SRI LANKA: PROLOGUE

IN PRAISE OF MY BEAUTIFUL ISLAND,
INFORMATION, PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEO.

THE 13th CENTURY VENETIAN TRAVELER MARCO POLO DESCRIBED THE ISLAND AS 'THE JADE PENDANT IN THE INDIAN OCEAN'. THE ABUNDANCE OF GEMSTONES, SPICES, RAIN FORESTS AND WILDLIFE; THE MAGNIFICENT BEACHES, ANCIENT RUINS AND A WRITTEN HISTORY OF OVER 2500 YEARS MAKE THIS ISLAND A TOURISTS' PARADISE.

THE RUINED CITIES OF ANURADHAPURA AND POLONNARUWA ILLUSTRATE THE GLORY OF THE ANCIENT KINGDOMS. THE GIGANTIC STUPAS AND BUDDHA STATUES ARE AMONG THE BIGGEST MAN MADE STRUCTURES OF THE WORLD. THE MASSIVE RESERVOIRS, BUILT BY ANCIENT KINGS TO IRRIGATE THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF LAND, ARE MARVELS OF HYDRO ENGINEERING. THERE ARE EIGHT UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN SRI LANKA

THE ISLAND WAS KNOWN TO THE GREEKS AS 'TAPROBANE' AND TO THE ARABS AS 'SERENDIB'. EARLY MERCHANTS VISITED THE ISLAND IN SEARCH OF GEMSTONES AND SPICES, MAINLY CINNAMON AND PEPPER. COFFEE AND TEA PLANTATIONS WERE STARTED BY THE BRITISH COLONIAL RULERS. CEYLON TEA IS FAMOUS THE WORLD OVER.

TOURISM INDUSTRY IS A MAJOR MONEY SPINNER FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL ISLAND. THE VAST EXPANSE OF BEACHES, RAIN FORESTS AND NATIONAL PARKS WITH HERDS OF WILD ELEPHANTS, THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WITH LITHE WATER FALLS, BRING IN THE TOURISTS. THE ISLAND IS DOTTED WITH HUNDREDS OF HOTELS TO ACCOMMODATE THE TRAVELER. AN ISLAND OF 25,000 SQ; MILES HAS 103 RIVERS AND 25000 RESERVOIRS, MOSTLY MAN MADE. WITH VARYING CLIMATIC CONDITIONS THIS IS TRULY A 'SMALL MIRACLE'.

" THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA IS A SMALL UNIVERSE, IT CONTAINS AS MANY VARIATIONS OF CULTURE, SCENERY AND CLIMATE AS SOME COUNTRIES A DOZEN TIMES ITS SIZE........I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS ANY COUNTRY WHICH SCORES SO HIGHLY IN ALL DEPARTMENTS - WHICH HAVE SO MANY ADVANTAGES AND SO FEW DISADVANTAGES. LOVELY BEACHES, BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES, IMPRESSIVE RUINS, A VIBRANT CULTURE AND CHARMING PEOPLE- NO WONDER SRI LANKA IS A SMALL MIRACLE ".***** Arthur C. Clark *****




Over: 70 Pages, 800 Posts, 1000 Photographs and 900,000 Page views
Showing posts with label elephants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elephants. Show all posts

09 June, 2018

Elephant safari, Habarana, Sri Lanka.





Pics - courtesy: Gerrit, Hans, Netty and Hanneke.

12 February, 2015

SRI LANKA -THE BIG ONES TAKING A DIP


Elephants of the Pinnawala orphanage are led to the river twice a day, although these are not tamed animals, they mingle with the crowds without any unusual behavior.






Pics by: Nelsonlanka

Sony NEX 6

18 December, 2014

SRI LANKA - A LAND OF ELEPHANTS


"Although the number of these animals is still so immense in Ceylon, they must nevertheless have been much reduced within the last twenty years. In those days the country was overrun with them, and some idea of their numbers may be gathered from the fact that three first rate shots in three days bagged 104 elephants". 
Page 114, from the book - Eight Years In Ceylon - by Sir William W. Baker, published in 1902, by Longmans, Green in New York.

http://www.archive.org/stream/eightyearsinceyl00bakerich#page/n6/mode/1up

Today the elephant population has dwindled to about 8000 and some are in orphanages! These pictures are from the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.






Pics by: Nelsonlanka.

Sony  DSC H7.

21 October, 2012

SRI LANKA - KANDY [ TEMPLE ELEPHANT RAJA ]


The tusker named Raja participated in religious processions, of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, Kandy, for a period of about fifty years. This elephant was donated to the Temple by a Kandyan dignitary in 1937 and after his death in 1988, the clever hands of the taxidermist turned the elephant to an exhibit admired by visitors to the Temple.



Pics by : Nelsonlanka

Sony  DSC H7

17 April, 2012

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANTS OF WILPATTU


Wilpattu National Park has close to sixty lakes (Willu) and tanks  spread throughout the 131,693 hectares. It is the largest and one of the oldest National Parks in Sri Lanka. These elephants are enjoying a dip in one of the tanks.



Pics, courtesy : Ashan

Little Adventures

01 March, 2012

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANTS


A night visit by ' short tusks ' at Yala National Park.


Pics : By courtesy, Ashan

Little Adventures

28 December, 2011

SRI LANKA - SAY ' NO ' TO LAND MINES


A few more years of walking with a limp, with the enormous weight of the body heaving on the left right foot, will bring about total immobilization. The arched back is a deformity resulting from unbalanced walking.

Remnants of terrorism.




Pics by : Nelsonlanka

Sony DSC H7

16 November, 2011

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANTS [ DISPLAY OF AFFECTION ]


Living in herds, friendly interactions among elephants is a common sight. Elephants show affection by gentle rumbling and 'touching' with their trunks.



Pics by :  Nelsonlanka
Sony  DSC  H7

10 September, 2011

SRI LANKA - PHILATELY [ ELEPHANTS ]




Pics by : Nelsonlanka
Sony  DSC H7

First Day Cover     : By courtesy, Ana
Pics optimized by : Gerrit van Pommeren [ Belgium ]


07 September, 2011

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANT CENSUS AUGUST, 2011


The skeleton of a young elephant on display at Pinnawela, Sri Lanka. Note the absence of trunk bones - the trunk is made up of muscles only [over 40,000 ]


The elephant census conducted in August, 2011 revealed the latest figures - 5879 elephants living in the wild. The count was done at 1553 centers, manned by 3500 personnel comprising of wildlife officers, university professors, police and army officers and villagers.


Among the wild elephant population there had been 122 tuskers and 1107 calves and the animals were found to be in a very healthy condition.


  


Pics : Nelsonlanka


Sony DSC  H 7

05 August, 2011

SRI LANKA - THE TUSKER IS DEAD


Captured in 1945 at the age of five, this elephant was renowned as the Asian elephant with the longest tusks. This elephant has participated in the Kandy Esala Perehera for over 30 years. On 3rd August, 2011 this gentle giant died of natural causes at the age of 71.



Pics by : Nelsonlanka

Sony  DSC  H7

19 July, 2011

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANT SAFARI


Visitors to Sri Lanka to Sri Lanka rarely miss an elephant ride, a quick safari through the jungle and across the lake.




Pics by : Gerrit,Netty,Hans and Hanneke [ Belgium ]

Sri Lanka Tour, May 2011

30 June, 2011

SRI LANKA - ELEPHANT SAFARI


Visitors to Sri Lanka rarely miss an elephant ride, a quick safari through the jungle and across the lake.



Pics by : Gerrit,Netty,Hans and Hanneke [ Belgium ]

Sri Lanka Tour, May 2011

26 May, 2011

SRI LANKA - KANDY ESALA PEREHERA [ PAGEANT ] VIDEO

Esala Perahera [ the festival of the Sacred Tooth Relic ] is the grand 
festival of Esala held in Sri Lanka in late July or early August anually, this 
grand Religious Procession parades the streets of Kandy for ten nights.  It has 
become a unique Buddhist Religious festival of Sri Lanka. Scores of traditional 
Kandyan dancers and costume clad elephants take part in this parade.  There 
are fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandyan dances and various other cultural 
dances performed by over a thousand participants. 




YouTube video:        http://youtu.be/tvABzeWHWWQ


07 May, 2011

SRI LANKA - BABY ELEPHANTS

On average, newborn calves stand about 1 m (3 ft.) high and weigh 120 kg 
(264 lb.) at birth.  Newborn Asian elephant calves weigh about 91 kg (200 lb.) 
they are able to walk within one to two hours of birth. Within two days, calves 
are strong enough to join the rest of the herd. Mothers and aunts are in almost 
constant affectionate contact with the young, offering guidance and assistance. 
On average, calves drink about 10 L (21 pt.) of milk a day.






Pics by Nelsonlanka
Sony  DSC H7

04 May, 2011

SRI LANKA - ONLY ELEPHANTS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO WEAR IVORY

 The tusks of an elephant are its second upper incisors. Tusks grow continuously; an adult male's tusks grow about 18 cm (7 in) a year. Tusks are used to dig for water, salt, and roots; to debark trees to eat the bark; to dig into baobab trees to get at the pulp inside; and to move trees and branches when clearing a path. 
In addition, they are used for marking trees to establish territory, and occasionally as weapons.Like humans who are typically right- or left-handed, elephants are usually right- or left-tusked. The dominant tusk, called the master tusk, is generally shorter and more rounded at the tip from wear. Both male and female African elephants have large tusks that can reach over 3 m (10 ft) in length and weigh over 90 kg (200 lb). 
In the Asian species, only the males have large tusks. Female Asians have tusks which are very small or absent altogether. Asian males can have tusks as long as the much larger Africans, but they are usually much slimmer and lighter; the heaviest recorded is 39 kg (86 lb). The tusk of both species is mostly made of calcium phosphate in the form of apatite. As a piece of living tissue, it is relatively soft (compared with other minerals such as rock), and the tusk, also known as ivory, is strongly favoured by artists for its carvability. The desire for elephant ivory has been one of the major factors in the reduction of the world's elephant population.
Tusks are used by humans to produce ivory, which is used in artifacts and jewelryand formerly in other items such as piano keys. Consequently, many tusk bearing species have been hunted commercially and several are endangered. The ivory trade has been severely restricted by the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
                                                                             
                                                                  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia




Pics by : Nelsonlanka
Sony  DSC  H7

03 May, 2011

SRI LANKA - SAY ' NO ' TO LANDMINES


 " Land mines were designed for two main uses: to create defensive tactical 
barriers (such as protecting a unit's flanks against infiltration tactics, channeling attacking forces into predetermined fire zones or slowing an invasion force's progress to allow reinforcements to arrive); and to act as passive area-denial weapons (in order to deny the enemy use of valuable terrain, resources or facilities when active defense of the area is not desirable or possible). "

The former purpose is the primary large-scale current use of land mines.
                                                           
                                                          Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.


BUT





Photographed by : Nelsonlanka
Sony  DSC  H7
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