eTN Sri Lanka Contributor Releases New Book: Elephantine Tales

Long time contributor to eTurboNews from Sri Lanka, Srilal Miththapala, recently launched his second book on elephants.

Mr. Miththapala has authored countless articles for eTurboNews about the elephants in Sri Lanka, the country’s tourism, and relationship between these two entities. He has over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

He was President of Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2010, and in 2009 led an EU funded project called “Greening of Sri Lanka Hotels” to promote sustainability best practices as the Director and Consultant at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. He also served as a Board member of the Sri Lanka Hotel Classification Committee until 2012. Earlier in his career he served in several executive positions for hotels and management companies.

Currently, he is a part-time consultant in tourism for World Bank, Washington D.C., as well as a member of the Public Utilities Commission Consumer Consultative Committee.

Srilal has always been a committed environmentalist with a special interest in wildlife and especially for elephants.

Elephantine Tales is a collection of short anecdotes of his experiences in the national parks of Sri Lanka doing what he yearns to as often as possible – exploring nature, wildlife, and of course elephants. The book is full of “Elephantine Tales” and a few other wildlife as well. It will be of interest to the die-hard wildlife fraternity, as well as to the laymen with some interest in wildlife.

It is somewhat a personal odyssey re-living his experiences and close interaction with these gentle giants. It is written in simple language and the narratives are packed with in depth information about the environment, wildlife, and elephant behavior.

Here’s what the world-famous elephant researcher of Amboseli fame, Dr. Joyce Poole, Co-Founder and Scientific Director of ElephantVoices, said about the book: “I really enjoyed your book. Elephantine Tales is an immensely readable book about elephants and the love of the Sri Lankan people for them. Srilal Miththapala’s firsthand experiences took me back to the short period I studied elephants in Sri Lanka and reminded me of the warmth and enthusiasm of the people I met there. Miththapala’s tales are those of a naturalist who sets an example of the kind of individual dedication upon which the future survival of the country’s elephants depend.”

Prof. Devaka Rogrugo, top environment expert and head of the Dept. of Zoology at the Colombo University, said: “In this book, Srilal presents a series of short stories about his close encounters with elephants. However, I feel that the book transcends just storytelling, as it provides a wealth of information about the ecology and biology of elephants. Further, the book also provides the reader with an account of the historical changes that have taken place in some of the national parks in Sri Lanka, especially Uda Walawe National Park. I found this book very inspiring and informative.”

Prof. Devaka Weerakoon, Prof. of Environment Science at Colombo University, along with Dr. Sumith Pilapitya, Former Head of Environment at World Bank and former Director of Wildlife, as well as Mr. Hiran Cooray, Chairman of the Jetwing group, graced the event.

The book was launched this month in June at Jetwing Colombo 7 hotel with an appreciative audience who enjoyed the evening which was followed by light cocktails generously sponsored by Jetwing.