Our tentative plan is as follows:
Week One: Meet with the Director of Wildlife in Colombo to make plans for site visits to Pinnawala; visit Pinnawala and hold meetings with local vets and handlers. Much site visits and observations, suggestions from multiple sources will be documented into a draft implementation plan.
Week Two: join Sri Lanka's DWC vets in the field, including Dr. Nehal (in Ampara) and Dr. Chanadana (Anuradhapura). This will serve to introduce the Ele-vet team to Sri Lanka's standard vet practices, while also acclimatization for work/living in Sri Lanka.
Week Two - Three: Travel to sanctuaries, tourist facilities and temples as we survey the elephants, providing care as needed or allowed. We will collaborate with, and arrange for a DWC veterinarian to join us. His participation will also assure us of having access to medications and gear.
During the latter period (week 2/3) we will remain flexible in our travel, allowing us to rejoin regional vets if and when they have interesting field work. We will be in regular contact with Dr. Tharaka (Director of Wildlife Health), to monitor countrywide vet actions.
We will offer cost-free space for wildlife officials, or VIP - enticing them to join our work as they're available. Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya has asked to join us and others will soon be informed about our Vet-care program, including Lek Chailert and Nibha Namboodiri, Zoologist and first trained female mahout in India.
We will have a cameraman on task throughout our tour, documenting our work via our ongoing videoblog series.
Tour's Objectives: Our crews remain immersed in the most controversial issues currently facing Sri Lankan elephants. SavingGanesh.org is the sum of all its volunteer parts! We have huge issues, beyond Pinnawala and captive elephant issues, including: 1) the elephants of Hambantota - who have been recently pushed out of their habit by development of a second international airport and a mega-marina complex. This type of development is what largely pushed the former president out of office January 2015. The elephants are homeless and are in conflict with locals as they search for forage. We are working on solving this problem by bringing technological methods from India which will lesson surprise encounters between the species. 2) The Moranganakanda Dam, which began filling in November 2016 will undue Sri Lanka's hydrologic heritage, as this huge dam will pipe water to cities and preferred farmers, leaving wildlife dry. We are working on a film about this issue and promotiing a 10 percent for wildlife. We want 10% of the water to be used to restore jungle reservoirs for the benefit of wildlife.
Not to be all work - we will sample the best of Sri Lanka too, as our field work is often in proximity to interesting cultural sites. The Ancient City of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, Kandy, Dambulla Rock Temple, and perhaps we'll visit an Ayurvedic herbal garden. We will drive by some of the world's finest tea plantations. We will visit Yala National Park for a ranger-guided tour (likely by Dr. Sumith himself).
Important Dates: The tour(s) begins on December 1 in Colombo, Sri Lanka and ends on the 31st in Colombo. There is also an option to join us for our work in Southern India. Guests/volunteers can come and go as their priorities require. A daily rate is provided for this purpose.
You are responsible for securing your own tickets from the U.S. (or elsewhere) to Colombo. You will be picked up at the airport and brought to our beach hotel, either in Negombo or Hikkaduwa.
We will end the tour near the end of the day on Dec 26th at the Colombo Airport, or Negombo/Hikkaduwa (your choice).
Flying Strategies: We recommend momondo.com, for offering the best international search capabilities.
All land travel will be arranged by GeoWandering. Only the incoming and outgoing flights to/from the US are your responsibility - both the booking and the expense.
Tour Cost and what’s included: This is a joint SavingGanesh.org/GeoWandering production and all profits serve elephants of Sri Lanka; cost is dependent upon your skill set and involvement - vets, volunteers, interns and more. Generally we ask for double occupancy (shared room), with a single room surcharge of $20 per night. The cost for any personalized services, like Ayurvedic spa treatment, massages, salon services or alcoholic beverages is your responsibility. Accommodations, meals, park entrance fees, translator, and ground transportation are all included in the fee.
Additional Information: If you would like to extend your time in either Sri Lanka or India, you are welcome to join any of SavingGanesh.org’s other tours, either immediately before or after this tour. Discounting is available on additional tours. Most tours are filmmaking in nature, and you are welcome to join and be a member of the crew. As a working member of our conservation group, all your fees will be tax deductible. See FAQ page for more details.
Please see FAQ page for more information about deposit and payment requirements, and other important information.
Trip-specific information
Sri Lanka Ele-Care
Veterinarians and Guests Visit the Best of Sri Lanka's
Culture & Wildlife
December 1 - 26, 2017
Summary:
We will join Department of Wildlife (DWC) vets in the field for one week, learning about their challenges and techniques. We then survey captive elephant populations, offering services as necessary, while being supported by DWC officials.
Pinnawala:
Horrifically, the Minister of Wildlife recently announced that he will open the gate of world renown Pinnawala orphanage (actually a zoo) and provide free elephants to specific temples that request them. Elephants will now also be available for purchase by private individuals for $60,000. Irrespective of this, this past year, in tandem with Otara (a well known conservationist), we met with the Director of Wildlife Health (at his request) to discuss improvements to Pinnawala. Captive elephant expert, Carol Buckley, is scheduled to collaborate with our team with a site visit, concurrently with our tour. We are in the process of securing donations for implementation of multiple habitat enhancements. We anticipate spending several days in the Pinnawala area working with Carol and our own vet on implementation studies.