| Tourists are carried across a river while on an elephant safari in the Habarana jungle near Polonnaruwa, , Sri Lanka, September 23, 2003. Diminishing forest cover is forcing the endangered wild elephants in Asia, estimated at between 35,000 to 50,000, to encroach into surrounding human settlements. Hundreds of humans and elephants die as a result of the conflict every year. (Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi/Reuters) |