The search for ‘Walawe Raja’
View(s):For many years, the elephant Walawe Raja was an icon of the Uda Walawe National Park, being one of the largest tuskers who regularly frequented the park. He was a popular sight for visitors and was featured in international wild life films. In 2009, Walawe Raja was not sighted in the park, and there was concern that something had happened to him.
When he was not seen again during early 2010 as well, elephant enthusiast Srilal Miththapala, and his son Dimitri, who is himself as much an ‘elephant man’ as his father, mounted a search for Raja.
For about four months of the duration of the search, there was great interest and publicity generated through a dedicated web page and blog, and a regular column in the Sunday Times newspaper.
For the first time, the father and son team, will now present a complete overview of the project, and share their experiences during the three months that they searched the jungles of Uda Walawe for Walawe Raja on July 11at the Sri Lanka Hotel School auditorium, 78, Galle Road, Colombo 3 at 6 p.m. For more information and reservations, please call Aruni on 5588701, Tharangi 5588704, or Khema on 5588706. See also www.srilankaelephant.com
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