Observing elephants in their natural habitat was an eye-opening experience. 
 After watching how females of a herd look out for each other and the young elephants,
 I found it quite easy to admire these enormous mammals.  I hysterically watched several young calves
chase an egret one-twentieth of their size.  The egret would fly about five meters away, and the elephants would crash after it,
making a huge splash that would only send the bird further away.  Just like human children, young elephants live in a carefree world.  Thanks to the national parks set up by the people of Sri Lanka, there are protected places where the elephants do not have to fear poachers or habitat destruction.  Hopefully this system will continue to expand into other countries. 

Roseanne Schuster