The Barefoot Vet
From the Wilderness to the Mind
26 Years. Ten Volumes. One Conservation Journey.
For twenty-six years, the wilderness was his workplace - among wild elephants, injured animals, national parks, remote villages, the Elephant Transit Home, wildlife emergencies, research and the difficult realities of conservation. Now those experiences, photographs, field observations and scientific work are being brought together in a ten-volume journey.
By Dr. B. Vijitha Perera
Venerable Panadure Vimukthirathana Thissa
The story behind the series
These books began long before I thought of writing a series. They began in forests, national parks, reservoirs and villages; beside injured wild elephants; among orphaned calves at the Elephant Transit Home; during wildlife emergencies; through scientific research; and in the company of the many people whose lives intersected with conservation.
Across twenty-six years, those experiences gradually changed not only what I understood about wildlife, but also what I understood about people. Some became part of the scientific record. Some became photographs. Some remained only as memories.
The Barefoot Vet brings them together - from the world of elephants and frontline wildlife medicine to conservation conflicts, human relationships and the inner journey from a life as a wildlife veterinarian to monastic life.
International access
The experiences preserved in The Barefoot Vet belong to Sri Lanka, but many of the questions they raise belong to the world. The series is being prepared for publication in ten languages, introduced progressively as the international publishing programme develops.
Publishing journey
One new volume is released every month, on the 15th, from October 2026 through July 2027.
Volume I
OCT 2026
15 October 2026
Volume II
NOV 2026
15 November 2026
Volume III
DEC 2026
15 December 2026
Volume IV
JAN 2027
15 January 2027
Volume V
FEB 2027
15 February 2027
Volume VI
MAR 2027
15 March 2027
Volume VII
APR 2027
15 April 2027
Volume VIII
MAY 2027
15 May 2027
Volume IX
JUN 2027
15 June 2027
Volume X
JUL 2027
15 July 2027
Four parts. Ten volumes.
Part I - Among the Wild Giants
Four volumes exploring the elephants that shaped a veterinary career - individual stories, human-elephant conflict, orphan rehabilitation, science, biology, ecology and conservation.
Volumes I-IV | October 2026-January 2027
Part II - Beyond the Elephants
The journey extends into the wider world of Sri Lankan wildlife and the realities of rescue, injury, disease, veterinary intervention and growing human influence on wild lives.
Volumes V-VI | February-March 2027
Part III - The Human Connection
Villagers, farmers, trackers, wildlife officers, colleagues, friends and communities reveal the human realities surrounding conservation.
Volumes VII-VIII | April-May 2027
Part IV - Beyond the Cage
After decades spent treating wildlife and confronting the consequences of human behaviour, another journey began - one directed inward, towards the mind and the search for lasting happiness.
Volumes IX-X | June-July 2027
Volume I
Stories from a Lifetime Among Wild Elephants
Unforgettable individual elephants encountered across a veterinary career - their personalities, struggles, rescues, recoveries, relationships and mysteries, told through firsthand experience with Sri Lanka’s wild giants.
Coming 15 October 2026
Volume II
The Interface Between Humans and Elephants
The interface between humans and elephants. A field perspective on humans and elephants sharing changing landscapes shaped by agriculture, development, habitat pressure and competing needs.
Coming 15 November 2026
Volume III
Rehabilitation, Release and the Science Behind Their Return to the Wild
Inside elephant rescue and rehabilitation - individual calves, veterinary challenges, recovery, release and scientific questions explored through long-term experience and doctoral research.
Coming 15 December 2026
Volume IV
Understanding Elephants and Their Fate
The life of the giants and their fate. Evolution, biology, behaviour, social life and ecology, together with the pressures shaping the future of elephants.
Coming 15 January 2027
Volume V
My Life with Wildlife Beyond the Elephants
Beyond elephants lies Sri Lanka’s extraordinary diversity of wildlife - predators, primates, birds, reptiles, marine mammals, turtles and other species encountered through wildlife veterinary medicine.
Coming 15 February 2027
Volume VI
Rescue, Intervention and the Cost of Sharing Our World
Rescue, intervention and the cost of sharing our world. What happens when wild lives collide with a world increasingly shaped by humans.
Coming 15 March 2027
Volume VII
Lives at the Changing Frontier Between People and Wildlife
Conservation is also a human story - villagers, farmers, trackers, wildlife officers, soldiers, colleagues, friends and others surrounding the conservation journey.
Coming 15 April 2027
Volume VIII
The People and Experiences That Changed My Life
Encounters with people whose choices, kindness, struggles and wisdom influenced the author’s journey and expanded his understanding beyond wildlife alone.
Coming 15 May 2027
Volume IX
From the Wild World to Monastic Life
After a lifetime in veterinary medicine and conservation came a radically different decision: to leave professional and lay life behind and enter monastic life.
Coming 15 June 2027
Volume X
The Journey from the Wilderness to the Mind
The journey turns inward - through teachers, Dhamma, meditation, renunciation and an exploration of the mind, suffering, freedom and lasting happiness.
Coming 15 July 2027
Field experience grounded in science
26 years
Wildlife conservation experience
1,000+
Wild elephant interventions and treatments
300+
Orphaned elephant calves rehabilitated
173
Rehabilitated elephants released
49
Elephants radio-collared
1,000+
Wildlife post-mortem examinations
One life. Two worlds. One continuing purpose.
For twenty-six years, Dr. B. Vijitha Perera worked in wildlife conservation and veterinary medicine, including extensive work with Sri Lanka’s wild elephants and orphaned elephant calves. Today, as Venerable Panadure Vimukthirathana Thissa, that journey continues from another perspective.
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Subscribe to the journeyOne new volume released on the 15th of every month from October 2026 through July 2027.
