Alien threat to the miracle of Minneriya

The very first picture taken of the Minneriya twins – Pix by Rohan Wijesinha

By Rohan Wijesinha

The first recorded sighting of twin elephant calves in the wild, in Asia; hardly surprising that this was at the Minneriya National Park. For every year, during the season of drought, a miracle occurs on the vast reservoir bed of this ancient man-made water body. 

As the water recedes under the fierce sun and withering winds of the Kachan, rhizomes long submerged under the life-giving waters of the Minneriya Tank start to shoot and cover the exposed bed of the reservoir in lush, nutritious grasses. This draws herds of elephants to the area, to feed off this seasonal bounty, and results in the world renowned ‘gathering’ of wild elephants, where hundreds of elephants may be seen around the shores of the tank, as well as on those of the adjacent Kaudulla National Park.

A blessing of a God King

When King Mahesana (276CE-303CE) first constructed this vast reservoir over 1,700 years ago, he did it for the people of the area to ensure that they had water for their agricultural and other needs not just for that time, but for centuries to come. This it did, until foreign invasion and malaria devastated the local region and its dam was breached, channels blocked and it was reclaimed by the jungle that it once was. Further centuries later, in the early 1800s, the British who now ruled the country, saw the enormous potential there was in restoring the tank. This they did and King Mahasena’s vision was brought back to life.  Little could he have envisaged, however, that apart from a source of perennial water, his other legacy, that of conserving the forests surrounding the tank, essential for the preservation of water catchment areas, would apart from ensuring the agricultural prosperity of the people of the area could also, in times of drought, give hundreds of them the opportunity of making far more money than they would even from agriculture – from eco-tourism and its related businesses.

In a study undertaken by Srilal Miththapala, former President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL), he estimated that during the four or five months of ‘The Gathering’, it generates an approximate Rs. 1.5 billion for the local economy. As visitors to this country flock in their thousands to witness this natural miracle, in addition to DWCs entry fees, the over 1,000 safari jeep drivers registered at Minneriya, the surrounding hotels, restaurants, and other food and grocery outlets, all share of this seasonal bounty. 

King Mahasena, now considered a God of the region, Minneriya Deviyo, first blessed this land, and thanks to his vision for the future, and the forests and waters that are his legacy, the elephants that now visit these lands continues to bless the area and its people, and give them a source of income throughout the year.

An alien threat

Once again an alien invasion is threatening the prosperity of Minneriya. This time it is not in human or bacterial form but from a plant, Common Cocklebur Xanthim indicum, known in Sinhala as ‘Agada’. It is taking over the exposed beds of the Minneriya Tank. A weed that originated in North America, it has entered Sri Lanka possibly through its adhesive burrs becoming attached to shipments from overseas. With no natural predators, it now covers an estimated 20% of the reservoir bed, an area of approximately 300 hectares. This means that there is 20% less of grassland for the visiting elephants, and every year, the Agada spreads over wider and wider swathes of Minneriya, at an exponential rate. Soon there will be no pasture for the elephants. The days of the ‘Gathering’ will be over.

It is not just at Minneriya, but at the nearby Kaudulla too. Here, downstream from Minneriya, Agada has begun to take hold, hundreds of acres of it. And even at far away Uda Walawe, the reservoir beds, especially around Thimbirimankada, are inundated with this weed.

What can be done?

Time is of the essence, if the spread of the Agada is to be stopped. This will take at least three years to accomplish as the seeds that are already buried in the mud begin to take shoot every year, as the waters recede. If they can be removed before they mature and seed then, eventually, its re-growth will be retarded. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), however, will have to closely monitor that it does not take hold again, for the Agada at Minneriya came in from further upstream. The Federation of Environmental Organisations (FEO), in partnership with the DWC, has begun an operation to remove the Agada at Minneriya, and at Kaudulla if the funds are available. Initially, the larger growths will be slashed and the smaller weeds removed by hand. Already, with the assistance of some corporate entities and the kind contribution of a few individuals, over 100 hectares of the weed have been removed and are already beginning to grass over again. Much more, however, has to be done and the funds necessary to do it have to be raised.

Please help…

Over two decades ago, conservationists warned of the dangers to the Park if immediate and comprehensive action was not taken to remove the alien invasive Lantana camara (S. Gandapana) from Uda Walawe. That was not done to the intensity required and, today, the whole habitat of the park has changed. What was once open grasslands, which attracted hundreds of elephants, even more than would visit Minneriya, has now changed to scrubland, with little feed for elephants. Even in the drought, barely a hundred or more visit the Park. The stray cattle and feral buffalo have seen to the rest of the fodder available. Is this to happen to Minneriya? An amount of Rs. 5 million is required to fund this process for the removal of Agada from the Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks. FEO has set up two crowd funding sites, one each for local and overseas donors. In addition, contributions could be made directly to the FEO’s bank account. More details on how you can contribute, can be found on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/feosrilanka or on our website: www.feosrilanka.org.

Every little counts and we ask those who want to help save the miracle of Minneriya, even in these difficult times, to please help. The money will be used to pay for labour, the hire of tractors to remove the cut weed, and for brush cutters to do the cutting.

…to prevent this

With no food to eat, the elephants of Minneriya and Kaudulla will seek it in adjacent fields and homesteads, or starve to death. The human-elephant conflict, already at the highest rate it has ever been, will increase to unprecedented levels, and humans and even more elephants will die. Please help us to stop this from happening. 

(The writer is a Trustee, FEO.)