Miththapala gives talk on a personal odyssey with elephants

The picture shows wildlife and nature enthusiast Srilal Miththapala speaking to the audience

Wildlife and nature enthusiast Srilal Miththapala got an opportunity to draw on his experience of observing and interacting with wild elephants when he was invited by the Ceylon Society of Melbourne, Australia to give a talk on elephants at their monthly meeting on December 1. 

Miththapala gave a brief introduction to the Sri Lankan elephant and its social life and then discussed the serious ongoing issue of the human elephant conflict which is taking the lives of an unprecedented number of wild elephants in Sri Lanka. 

He went on to discuss some of the efforts being carried out to mitigate the situation. However he lamented that not enough was being done and that there is the urgent need for a concerted holistic approach to address the issue. Otherwise the complete annihilation of wild elephants in Sri Lanka would be imminent, he said. 

A wide cross section of members from diverse backgrounds enjoyed the presentation judging from the number of questions that were asked. 

The participants gathered for refreshments and fellowship thereafter.

Miththapala is a recipient of the Lifetime Award for Services Rendered to the Tourism Industry and a Consultant to the Asian Development Bank.  

He is also a Past President of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka.