{"id":7143,"date":"2026-08-06T15:30:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T15:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=7143"},"modified":"2026-08-06T15:30:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T15:30:06","slug":"greetings-from-a-wildlife-park-in-central-sri-lanka-thats-a-haven-for-elephants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=7143","title":{"rendered":"Greetings from a wildlife park in central Sri Lanka that&#8217;s a haven for elephants"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"storytitle\">\n<h1>Greetings from a wildlife park in central Sri Lanka that&#8217;s a haven for elephants<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORYTITLE\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"story-meta\" class=\"story-meta has-byline\">\n<div class=\"story-meta__one\">\n<div class=\"story-meta__one-inner\">\n<div class=\"dateblock\">\n    <time datetime=\"2026-08-06T10:19:27-04:00\"><br \/>\n            <span class=\"date\">August 6, 2026<\/span><span class=\"time\">10:19 AM ET<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/time>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__ONE-INNER\" -->\n   <\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__ONE\" --><\/p>\n<div class=\"story-meta__two\">\n<div id=\"storybyline\" class=\"storybyline-wrap linkLocation\">\n<div class=\"bucketwrap byline\">\n<div class=\"byline-container--block\">\n<div class=\"byline byline--block byline--has-link\" aria-label=\"Byline\">\n<div class=\"byline__photo\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/people\/536641200\/diaa-hadid\" rel=\"author\"><br \/>\n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2316x2316+0+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/85\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F12%2F98%2F2e800e644281b00c8c7efc3ec2cd%2Fdiaa-hadid.jpeg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Headshot of Diaa Hadid\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2316x2316+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F12%2F98%2F2e800e644281b00c8c7efc3ec2cd%2Fdiaa-hadid.jpeg\" data-format=\"jpeg\"><br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<p class=\"byline__name byline__name--block\">\n      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/people\/536641200\/diaa-hadid\" rel=\"author\"><br \/>\n      Diaa Hadid<br \/>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP BYLINE\" -->\n      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"STORY-META__TWO\" -->\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"STORY-META\" CLASS=\"STORY-META HAS-BYLINE\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"storytext\" class=\"storytext storylocation linkLocation\">\n<div id=\"resg-s1-137317-100\" class=\"bucketwrap statichtml\">\n<p data-pym-loader data-child-src=\"https:\/\/apps.npr.org\/dailygraphics\/graphics\/postcards-20260112\/dh.html\" id=\"responsive-embed-postcards-20260112-dh\"> Loading&#8230; <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"RESG-S1-137317-100\" CLASS=\"BUCKETWRAP STATICHTML\" --><\/p>\n<p>For days, we met farmers as they prepared for the spring rice sowing season in central Sri Lanka. They told me and my Sri Lankan colleague Susitha Fernando about elephants trampling their crops, and how they tried to push them back with firecrackers and lit torches. They were losing their livelihoods \u2014 and sometimes their lives.<\/p>\n<p>Encounters between elephants and farmers have killed hundreds on both sides in recent years. Most of Sri Lanka&#8217;s 7,400 elephants live freely across the island, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/05\/16\/g-s1-121654\/elephants-farmers-crops-sri-lanka\" target=\"_blank\">conflict has ensued<\/a> as their habitats are being converted to intensive agriculture in places where millions of people also live. <\/p>\n<p>To meet some of the elephants, we drove through the <a href=\"https:\/\/huruluecosafari.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hurulu Eco Park<\/a> in Sri Lanka&#8217;s Habarana district, where they graze freely in the confines of the park. After bouncing on dirt roads for an hour, we turned onto a path. A rainbow stretched across the sky, and an elephant ambled through it.<\/p>\n<p>I thought of what farmers told us: This conflict has two victims, because elephants are revered here. Under that rainbow, I felt that reverence too.<\/p>\n<p><em>For more Far-Flung Postcards,\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/series\/g-s1-62275\/international-postcards\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>click here<\/em><\/strong><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tags\">\n<ul>\n<li><a class=\"tag tag--story\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/175403273\/sri-lanka\">Sri Lanka<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"tag tag--story\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/tags\/133305649\/elephants\">Elephants<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"TAGS\" --><\/p>\n<div class=\"share-tools share-tools--secondary\" aria-label=\"Share tools\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--facebook\"><button class=\"fbStoryg-s1-137317\" data-share-facebook=\"{&quot;storyId&quot;: &quot;g-s1-137317&quot; }\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;share&quot;,&quot;clickName&quot;:&quot;facebook&quot;}\"><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Facebook<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--flipboard\"><button class=\"storyg-s1-137317\" data-share-flipboard=\"{&quot;storyId&quot;: &quot;g-s1-137317&quot; }\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;share&quot;,&quot;clickName&quot;:&quot;flipboard&quot;}\"><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Flipboard<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<li class=\"share-tools__service share-tools__service--email\"><button class=\"share-tools__email-link\" data-story-id=\"g-s1-137317\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;share&quot;,&quot;clickName&quot;:&quot;email&quot;}\"><b class=\"share-tools__service-name\">Email<\/b><\/button><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END CLASS=\"SHARE-TOOLS SHARE-TOOLS-SECONDARY\" ARIA-LABEL=\"SHARE TOOLS\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"NEWSLETTER-ACQUISITION-CALLOUT-DATA\" DATA-NEWSLETTER=\"{&amp;QUOT;NEWSLETTERID&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;NEWS&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;TITLE&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;UP FIRST&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;MARKETINGHEADER&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;SIGN UP FOR NPR&#039;S UP FIRST NEWSLETTER&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;FREQUENCY&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;EVERY DAY&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;SHORTDESCRIPTION&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;THE STORIES YOU NEED TO START YOUR DAY, HAND-PICKED FOR YOU EVERY WEEKDAY. PLUS, THE BEST OF NPR EVERY SUNDAY.&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;STICKYDESCRIPTION&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;SIGN UP FOR THE NPR&#039;S UP FIRST NEWSLETTER FOR THE LATEST HEADLINES AND UNIQUE STORIES FROM THE NPR NETWORK.&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;CONTENTIMAGE&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;HTTPS:\/\/NPR.BRIGHTSPOTCDN.COM\/E1\/16\/E7434747460F8691603795B6FF1C\/SCREEN-SHOT-2025-08-20-AT-1-47-26-PM.PNG&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;STATICMARKUPDIR&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;\/BUCKETS\/TOPICS\/HEADER1001.HTML&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;BRANDINGDIR&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;\/BRANDING\/SECTIONS\/NEWS\/&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;BRANDINGLINK&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;HTTPS:\/\/WWW.NPR.ORG\/SECTIONS\/NEWS\/&amp;QUOT;,&amp;QUOT;RECAPTCHASITEKEY&amp;QUOT;:&amp;QUOT;6LCDN9IZAAAAAOHT985BJJBZJKBJKSXDXK3GEKST&amp;QUOT;}\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT\" --><\/p>\n<div id=\"callout-end-of-story-mount-piano-wrap\" class=\"callout-end-of-story-mount-piano-wrap\">\n<!-- END ID=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO\" -->\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END ID=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO-WRAP\" CLASS=\"CALLOUT-END-OF-STORY-MOUNT-PIANO-WRAP\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"END-OF-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT-PIANO\" CLASS=\"RECOMMENDED-STORIES RECOMMENDED-STORIES-PIANO\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><br \/>\n<!-- END ID=\"END-OF-STORY-RECOMMENDATIONS-MOUNT\" CLASS=\"RECOMMENDED-STORIES\" ARIA-LABEL=\"RECOMMENDED STORIES\" --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greetings from a wildlife park in central Sri Lanka that&#8217;s a haven for elephants August 6, 202610:19 AM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7145,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7146,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7143\/revisions\/7146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}