ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE. S37 
Siyambala-anduwa, but the people do not speak of it as 
common. 
(19) Hare (Lepus nigricollis)—Common. 
(20) Elephant (Eliphas maximus)—I came on elephants 
frequently, but as regards their abundance or the reverse, it 
appears to be a matter of water distribution ; thus, near the 
Kumbukkan river, the Heda-oya, and Kurapan-oya one would 
find abundant traces, or, as I did, the animals themselves. As 
soon as the country gets dried up in the south-west monsoon 
the distribution ceases to be general, and the places where 
elephants will be found is only within reach of water. 
Directly the rains begin and the fresh grass springs up—as it 
does do with remarkable rapidity—elephants may be found in 
all parts, so that it might be said that there is a distinct 
symptom of migration. I entirely disagree with the opinion, 
frequently expressed, that “‘ elephants are on the increase ”’; 
on the contrary, I believe the opposite to be the case. The 
elephant has to-day a much more restricted area to wander in 
than it had a hundred years ago. This area, by the cultural 
operations of man, is yearly being shrunk up, while shooting 
for “ sport” and kraaling still further lessen the numbers of 
these magnificent animals. The ease with which one can get 
_an elephant proclaimed a “ rogue” adds another to the many 
causes of its destruction, not to mention the facilities that 
have in the last twenty years been offered to certain Chiefs to 
have kraals, the few survivors of which do not breed in 
captivity. It is only a matter of time for the elephant to be 
completely exterminated in Ceylon, unless steps are taken, 
with the aid of suitable sanctuaries, in addition to the com- 
plete prohibition of kraaling, except at intervals of, say, 
twenty years, to prevent this disaster. The actual damage done 
by elephants is not to be compared with their value as transport 
animals, and nothing can be more deplorable than allowing 
such valuable creatures to be shot in the cause of so-called 
** sport.” 
(21) Buffalo (Bos bubalus)—I found these to be generally 
distributed in the country I traversed, but not nearly in the 
same numbers as I found them in 1906. I found many 
skeletons—usually much devoured—of buffaloes, all pointing 
