My favourite animal is the elephant. The elephant is a large mammal. It lives in herds. I like them because they have an important place in society. The honour of carrying the Sacred Tooth Relic is given to this animal. It also helps people in performing heavy work. In the early days, elephants were used in battles. It’s beautiful to watch them roaming in the forests in search of water. Baby elephants are also a pretty sight. The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is a tourist attraction in Sri Lanka. You can watch the elephants in their daily routine of bathing, eating, quenching their thirst and and walking in line to and fro. It has large ears through which it can sense danger.
The conflict between elephants and humans is a topic popular among people nowadays. Elephants raid villages and destroy crops, houses and even valuable human lives. But why is this happening? It’s happening because people have destroyed their habitats. So where can they live? Space is limited in the forest, and they can’t live there any more because forests are being cleared for developmental activities. So elephants come into the villages. Why can’t we stop this? These elephants have been threatened. We need the help of high officials. We must protect these wild elephants.
Bihandu Kitulwatte,
Grade 7,
Ananda College, Colombo.