Elephants Lanka's Friendly Giants 
The Sri Lankan elephant, known as "Elephas maximus maximus", is a more majestic sub-species of the Asian elephant, " Elephas maximus " The elephant population is a major feature of Sri Lanka and, although endangered in the 1960s, is now protected and a regular sight on the island. Elephants in the wild live in tight-knit family herds of no more than 15, headed by an elderly female. Although elephant family ties are strong, it is common for ageing males to take voluntary retirement from the herd so that the females mate only with the virile younger bullsWorking elephants are controlled by mahouts, who bring them to heel by an elephant lore called Sinhata Hasti Sastraya. This involves stimulation of 72 pressure points (anila and nita), activated by the mahout's stick, the ankussaor goad.
Elephants Diets
The trunk is the most important organ for the elephant, capable of gathering up 180 kg (400 Ib) of food and 150 litres  (40 gallons) of water to drink or to douse with. Surviving on bark, twigs, reeds and leaves, however, takes a toll on the animals' dentistry and elephants go through three sets of molars in their lifetime. When the third set begins to wear down, the ageing elephant moves towards water to live on semi-solid food. Elephant graveyards are, therefore, generally near a waterhole. 

Decorating the Elephants
The annual perahera (procession) in Kandy (above) is one of Sri Lanka's most spectacular f sights and a time when the i island's beloved elephants are honoured and decorated in keeping with their revered position. The procession in Kandy began almost 2,000 years ago to parade the Tooth Relic of Buddha, housed in the Temple of the Tooth, through the town to be honoured by the public. The procession is led by the "tusker" elephant, which is draped from trunk to tail in a brightly coloured embroidered cloth decorated with tiny electric light bulbs. It is the tusker's role to carryon its back an illuminated howdah (elephant "saddle") which holds the gold, dagoba- shaped karanduwa (reliquary), an exact replica of the casket which holds the sacred tooth within the temple. Behind the tusker is a train of12 other decorated elephants, followed by a parade of temple officials. The Kandy Perahera is the most impressive procession but numerous parades throughout Sri Lanka decorate elephants.