A Little on Elephants...

The welcome sign at the MEF site

Nestled two hours outside of Colombo is the Millennium Elephant Foundation, a home to Lakshmi, Pooja, Rani and Bandara, just some of the elephants that are cared for at the site.

The Millennium Elephant Foundation is a nongovernmental organization charity that started in 1999 with the assistance of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). MEF is dedicated to improving the lives of injured or captive elephants while influencing and advising other international organizations on proper elephant treatment. 

At Millennium, workers and volunteers see elephants that have been injured, neglected or abused. Some even have injuries from landmines following a 30-year-long civil while others suffer disabilities from the tsunami in 2004. 

The main office of MEF where all things elephant are planned and prepared

 

The foundation cares for captive elephants which are a significant problem in Sri Lanka. To own an elephant here means extreme wealth. Some purchase an elephant and chain it in their front yard, simply to show their wealth. Owning an elephant requires a great deal of money (food, veterinarian visits, etc.).   Therefore, many of these privately owned elephants are denied the proper care they require. Even if an elephant is receiving proper treatment by their owner, when that owner dies, the elephant can get passed down to someone who may have no interest or knowledge of elephants whatsoever. 

An elephant mural volunteers work on in the afternoons

MEF also protects elephants from being hired out for labor. Elephants are frequently put to work in the logging industry in Sri Lanka. Logging elephants are often abused and live in poor conditions.  They can develop damages to their tusks including nerve damage and bleeding gums. 

Howdah- heavy chairs are another abuse to elephants that MEF sees. These chairs are attached to elephants and are used to carry tourists. While many think this is an enjoyable means of getting around, the chairs in fact cause extreme pain to elephants. The Howdah has a blanket that drapes over the elephant.  It sometimes conceals deep open wounds and spinal damage. MEF is working to ban these chairs. 

A volunteer rubbing ointment on a Howdah-injured elephant

Temple elephants are also apparent at MEF. These elephants are usually left to stand outside temples all day, by themselves. These conditions do not meet an elephants’ physical and mental capacities each day. Temple elephants are rare to see at MEF because these elephants are considered to be acceptable: no one can censor anything of religious affiliation in Sri Lanka.

The foundation saves its elephants by paying owners to care for the animals. MEF believes that in order to do the most good, it needs to entice owners to hand over their elephants to the organization by paying them, not receiving payment.