Central Sri Lanka

This scene is an original illustration set in Central Sri Lanka. It lies in equatorial latitudes, where the climate is tropical savanna — a pronounced dry season.

Two elephants stand belly-deep in a river spraying water, showing small ears, twin-domed foreheads and arched backs. A keeper sits small on a bank boulder. Dense green forest lines both banks under hot, bright, near-vertical light.

Why does the Asian elephant have smaller ears?

Ear size is thermoregulation: smaller ears mean less radiating surface, which suits a species living under forest canopy rather than on open sun-struck plains. The twin-domed forehead and arched back distinguish this elephant from its African relatives at a glance. Bathing daily is not leisure — skin this thick needs water and mud to stay cool and free of parasites.

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