The amazing and unique phenomenon of "The Elephant’s Gathering at the Minneriya Tank in Sri Lanka" takes place during the drought months of June to October. 'The Gathering' at Minneriya is a wonderful opportunity for, Eco tourists and local wildlife enthusiasts to observe the social dynamics of a very large herd of elephants at one spot. The estimates of the herd of elephants that gather at Minneriya range from 250 to 700. Is this a “migration” like that of the Wildebeest in Kenya? Perhaps not in that sense as this is a gathering of several herds of wild elephants from neighboring wild life parks.


The vast Minneriya Tank is a man made reservoir, 8900 Hectares in extent, built by King Datusena in 3 AD, for the irrigation of the paddy and agricultural lands. Sri Lankans in 3 AD were a civilization whose mastery of hydraulics, engineering, logistics and architecture was remarkably sophisticated and perhaps the most advanced at that time in history in the ancient world. The Minneriya tank is an architectural and engineering marvel considering that it was built in 3 AD. The ancient reservoir is full of water in the wet season (during November to March, the North-east monsoon) but goes partially but never completely dry in the months of June to September during the dry season. Humans and animals both undergo much hardship due to the lack of water during the drought. The waterholes in the jungle that the elephants use become dry and caked.An elephant requires on average 100 liters of water a day and a thirsty elephant will wonder around till he finds water. However, the Minneriya Tank never runs dry and the basin will always have some water which sustains the lush grass at the base of the vast reservoir.


The gathering is a natural phenomenon determined by the availability of good grazing, water and shelter in the nearby forests where the elephants spend the hot humid hours of the day. The Asian elephant has small ears and therefore does not have as good a system of cooling down as the African cousin and is therefore a shade loving animal. Thus this is an ideal spot for “An Elephant Gathering” Wild elephants from all the neighboring areas, from as far as Wasgamuwa wild life park,(which has 250 elephants)the Kaudulla sanctuary(150 elephants) the Somawathi Sanctuary and Kantale congregate at the Minneriya National Park due to the reliable availability of water, good tasty grazing and shade, a triple combination that gives rise to this unique phenomenon, the biggest gathering of elephants at one spot in Asia.




As evening falls, the elephants emerge from the welcome shade offered by the surrounding jungle. They come in small herds of tens or twenties, from various sides of the Minneriya tank and join together into larger herds, sometimes numbering over a hundred. Adult bulls mix freely, using their trunks to test the air for adult females who are receptive. When a bull elephant attains maturity, he is expelled from the herd and wanders as a bachelor. However, they all attend the gathering searching for company and for females to mate with. At the annual gathering, elephants that have not seen each other during the wet season renew acquaintances, frolicking in the water and using their trunks and bodies to make body contact in very affectionate ways. The bachelor bulls fight ferociously with each other for supremacy and domination of the females. Young calves play with each other. The matriarchs solicitously keep a watchful eye on the calves and the whole groups take care to safeguard the baby elephants that are always flanked by adults. It certainly is a carnival atmosphere at the gathering of the clans at the Minneriya Tank.


This unique gathering attracts local elephant lovers and eco tourists in large numbers. This leads to an overcrowding of the park with safari jeeps which cause a lot of noise which is detrimental to the elephants and other wild life. Some jeep drivers are ill disciplined and drive on to the bed of the tank in order to take the tourists near the elephants for a better and nearer view, perhaps with a view to a bigger gratuity! This can harass and frighten the wild elephants.

Responsible Eco tourism must ensure that the above unacceptable aspects are minimized or eliminated. The hoteliers, tour operators, wild life officials and environmentalists are working very hard towards this end to ensure responsible elephant watching practices. This will ensure that the elephants and nature lovers both enjoy this unique gathering of elephants at the Minneriya Tank.Good hotels, knowledgeable eco tour operators, experienced guides and a large number of ancient archaeological sites close by make a safari to see the elephant gathering a very pleasant experience.