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In Sri Lanka Elephants were used in all important ceremonies. The annual Perahera in Kandy has been going on for about 220 years, and brings more that a hundred elephants together for a late July-early August parade through the streets of Kandy. The parade is the culmination of a ten day festival, and it is held on the Esala full moon. |
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Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage is home to about 60 elephants, many are baby or juvenile animals found abandoned or orphaned in the wild. The elephants are escorted to a river near by for their daily bath. The orphanage was started in 1975 by the Department of Wildlife, and was taken over in 1978 by the National Zoological Gardens, a captive breeding program was launched in 1982. And, an attempt was made to allow the elephants to roam freely during the day to establish a herd structure. |
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| A Sri Lanka Walking Stick Insect. |
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| Copulating Hemiptera in the dry forest at Giritale. |
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| Located 4 miles from Kandy, the Peradeniya Botanical Garden dates to the reign of king Vikrama Bahu III in 14th century. This Botanical Garden cover 62 hectares at an elevation of 550 m. Huge tropical trees can be found here, and the orchid house is quite spectacular with more than 300 varieties of orchids. The Mahaweli River flows along the boundaries of the Garden, and, it may be best known from a scene in the film Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom, part of which was filmed the river. The photo shows the Royal Palm Avenue (the trees are Roystonania regia), at one of the park's entrances. |