Uda Walawe National Park, Sri Lanka

"With herds of elephants, wild buffalo, sambar deer and leopards, Uda Walawe is the Sri Lankan national park that best rivals the savanna reserves of Africa. The park’s 30,821 hectares centre on the large Uda Walawe Reservoir, fed by the Walawe Ganga.... This is one of the best places in Sri Lanka to see elephants—there are about 500 in the park in herds of up to 100.... Other creatures that call Uda Walawe home are sambar deer, wild buffaloes (their numbers boosted by domesticated buffaloes), mongooses, bandicoots, foxes, water monitor lizards, crocodiles, sloth bears and the occasional leopard. There are 30 varieties of snake and a wealth of birdlife; northern migrants join the residents between November and April." (Source: Lonely Planet Sri Lanka 2012.)

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Below are scenes from the Elephant Transit Home, a refuge for orphaned baby elephants near Uda Walawe National Park