Elephant suffering from gunshot wound found dead

An elephant that had been wandering near Girithale Tank in Polonnaruwa with a severe gunshot wound has died this morning (31).

Veterinary surgeons of Girithale wildlife office had, reportedly, treated the wounded elephant on several occasions.

However, the elephant had succumbed to injuries early this morning.

The deceased elephant is approximately thirty years of age and eight feet in height.

The postmortem examination of the elephant is to be conducted today (31).

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Public requested to avoid feeding wild elephants

Sri Lanka’s wildlife veterinary officers request the public to refrain from feeding any synthetic food to wild elephants.

They point out that the digestive systems of elephants are harmed due to them veering off their natural feeding patterns and consuming the food items provided by people.

Although wild elephants are frequently spotted at national parks and forest areas, some elephants have been observed waiting for people who feed them on the roadsides.

This is a common sight especially for motorists traveling on the Habarana – Polonnaruwa road. People traveling on pilgrimage or on pleasure trips stopping to feed various foods to wild elephants on the roadside in this manner has now reportedly become the daily eating pattern of these elephants.

People engage in these activities despite the signs put up by the Wildlife Conservation Department advising not to feed the wild elephants that roam those parts.

The department says that although the public enjoys feeding elephants it has become a serious threat to the health of these animals.

Veterinary officers warn that artificial food products such as toffees and chocolate are harmful to the digestive system of elephants.

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ELEPHANT-TRAIN ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS

A number of elephants succumbed to their injuries after being hit by trains moving along the
Colombo- Batticaloa railway line. Most deaths were reported from Habarana, Palugaswewa
and Welikanda areas. An SMS alert service was recently introduced to minimise elephant train accidents, but to what extent it has been successful is yet to be reported.

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Wild Elephant dies after being hit by a luxury bus

COLOMBO (News 1st): A Wild Elephant died after being hit by a luxury bus along the Puttalam-Anuradhapura main road. The accident took place early this morning at around 3 am in the 4th-mile post area.

Following the collision, the bus had veered off the road and hit a tree. The bus conductor was injured in the accident and is being treated at the Puttalam Hospital.

According to Police, signboards have been placed on either side of the road in the area, warning drivers that wild elephants in the Sellakandala reserve frequent this road. Our correspondent said that two wild elephants have fallen victim to accidents along this road in the past.

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Elephant kills mahout during Perahera

A mahout (elephant handler) was killed after being attacked by an elephant during a Perahera in the Karandeniya area last night.

The mahout, a 45-year-old resident of Rideegama, was rushed to hospital in critical condition following the incident which had occurred at around midnight yesterday (24).

However, he had succumbed to injuries and was pronounced dead on admission to the hospital.

Ada Derana reporter said that the rampaging elephant had subsequently attacked and caused damages to several houses in the area.

A team of Wildlife officers and veterinarians had managed to capture the elephant later on by using tranquilizers.

The body of the deceased has been placed that the Balapitiya Hospital while Karandeniya Police is conducting further investigations.

The incident was also recorded on nearby CCTV cameras.

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TO SAVE WILD ELEPHANTS FROM TRAIN ACCIDENTS

Atechnician of Kottawa in Galle has invented a signal system to prevent wild elephants from
being run over by trains. The new inventor Chaminda Jayasinghe has already received patents
for six out of 52 new inventions.

He has named the new invention as a safety system to save wild elephants from train accidents. He said he used good conductor plates, a sensor, an Arduino circuit and an inverter circuit to turnout the safety system.

“Two good conductor plates should be placed in-between the rails and the sensor tted to a
rail and power supplied to them. A control box with Arduino circuit and the inverter circuit is
installed by the side of the railway line and power supplied to it through a solar panel. Arduino
circuit is connected to the plates and the inverter circuit to the sensor. The power supplied to
the installation is similar to that in an electric fence. When a wild elephant steps on to the
plates the sensor would issue a signal activating the inverter circuit that would supply power
to the plates. Meanwhile a blue light would be burning, warning the driver of the presence of
an elephant on the track. When the train passes the location, the installation would automatically switch o ” He said.

He further said the installation could be turned out at a cost of about Rs.50,000.

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Ma-hout killed in elephant attack during karandeniya perehera

A mahout has been killed in an elephant attack during a perehera at Karandeniya temple yesterday.

Police noted that the elephant went on a rampage during the Karandeniya- Kos-watu-maanaa-na Sri Sudarshana ramaya annual perehera.

The elephant attacked the victim while passing the Karandeniya- Borakanda area, throwing him into a nearby wall.

Additionally It has been reported that the elephant had crushed the victim who was 45 years of age.

Police noted that several houses in the area were damaged during the attack.

wildlife officials tranquillized the elephant at around 4 am and removed him from the area.

Following the incident, police took measures to have spectators and dance troupes moved from the location.

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Risk of wild elephants going extinct in Sri Lanka

Environmentalists say that Sri Lanka’s wild elephants face the threat of extinction due to certain human activities.

In the year 1990 the number of elephants killed due to human activities was around 22 while currently the annual figure stands at around 250 to 300.

Environmentalist Nayanaka Ranwella said that in addition to the above several elephant calves die due to starvation as a result of electric fences obstructing their habitat.

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Orphaned Elephants Bathing in River in Pinnawala

Description
The main attraction in Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is elephant bathing. Twice in a day around 30 - 40 elephants of all sizes and age playing in the river and being washed by giant water jets.Once the bath was over they majestically walk back to the park where they were fed.

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OPINION | Elephant Death in Karnataka Shows Animals Won't Accept Man-made Borders. So What’s the Solution?

New Delhi: The recent death of a wild elephant that was first chased away by villagers and later died by getting stranded on a railway fence in Karnataka’s Nagarhole National Park, has put the spotlight back on the human-wildlife conflict.

In the past year alone, as many as 97 elephants have died due to man-animal clashes. A total of 490 elephants have died since 2013.

But human wildlife conflict is a misnomer. Wildlife and people are not in conflict with each other. Sure, they occasionally face problems with each other as both need to share the same space and resources. An elephant finds the crops at the edge of the forest delectable, but for the farmer the crops are his bread and butter.

Both elephants and humans vie for the harvest. If the farmers have worked hard to till the soil, the elephants have ensured rainfall by spreading the forests when they dispersed seeds over long distances. The conflict arises because both want to use the same resources but are unable to reach a middle ground.

Wildlife causes very little damage to human property and life compared to several other causes when viewed from a broader perspective. A lot more people die due to malaria or get injured in traffic accidents compared to what wildlife can do in a decade, and yet, to a poor farmer whose yearly subsistence is damaged by elephants the impact can be very real and severe.

It is also important to realise that feeding on crops by wild herbivores is as ancient as farming. Some societies that have historically lived near the forests, like the farmers near Tadoba Tiger Reserve, have accepted that a part of their farm will be eaten by wild herbivores since it is also their area. This is probably an ancient coping strategy to deal with crop loss in an area that also is home to wild animals.

When a farmer starts growing cash crops for which he has taken loans, the extent of damage can prove costlier and hence acceptance towards the losses may be low.

The biggest issue plaguing the wildlife and human interactions in India today is the notion that wild animals should be confined to forests only and this is in direct contravention with how our people have shared spaces with large wildlife over hundreds of years and still continue to do so.
Our analysis of researches carried out in India on large cats such as tigers and leopards found that the majority of the research was restricted to inside protected areas. With a limited view of the wildlife through the protected areas lens, we have ended up believing that animals should only exist there. But 95 per cent of spaces that are outside protected areas all have wildlife.

One great Indian bustard that was GPS-tagged was found to have used more than 1,000 sq km area across three states. So how does one restrict it to a 5 sq km protected area? An elephant in West Bengal went across to Nepal and came back, covering over 700 sq km area. How does one expect him to live in a 600 sq km protected area?

As long as we believe that wild animals have to be confined within forests, there will not be any right solutions in sight because our presumption itself is faulty. On the contrary, we may end up restricting wildlife forcibly to protected areas and jeopardise their conservation in the process.

Since the lines of restriction – protected areas -- have been drawn by humans, the humans only can understand them. Another area of problem is that the issue is one related to humans and their interactions with wildlife but all our interventions are targeted at wildlife, especially techno-management such as sleeper fences and capturing tigers the moment they step foot outside protected areas.

Recent studies and discussions in the field indicate that it is critical to concentrate on the human dimension of these issues and that we will not resolve the issue by involving merely the biologists who study the animals. We need people who also understand the human side of it.

It is also increasingly evident that the forest departments cannot do it all by themselves as wildlife does not heed to them. For emergencies, they require the help of the police, the revenue department, media etc. But all these engagements need to be done before a problem arises. The police must know that they have to control the mob when an elephant is in town before the elephant actually comes to town and things go out of control.

We are already beginning to see such collaborations in multiple states. Some forest departments under good officers are able to maintain good connection and rapport with other departments.

In a way, these wild animals which roam our lands and have been doing so ever since people have been living in this country, are forcing us to open doors of engagement between different agencies. They are forcing biologists to interact with social scientists and with the media — which has so far been working in its own self-contained silos.

A powerful way forward would be to accept that wildlife is never going to understand our boundaries of where we think it should be restricted to. We also need targeted actions to sensitise humans about this aspect.

Also, the forest departments must change the way they deal with humans. For a large part, these departments are a colonial force that polices the forests. But when dealing with wildlife that stays among people, the officials need to don a different hat — that of assisting the people who suffer damage to wild animals. These departments needs to be people-friendly and acquire strong public relations skills.

Every time a problem was been solved was when the actions were directed towards the public. While compensation is touted as a good solution, many forest officers that I have interacted with tell me it is not an easy thing to implement in a country like India that is burdened with corruption and loopholes. Furthermore the compensation scheme is not transparent and subjective in its assessment of loss.

Instead of top down government schemes, it is community-planned, run and managed schemes that are likely to be more successful due to the inherent nature of the community involvement.

Studies have shown that often human wildlife conflicts represent human-human conflicts. We see this when the public burns the forest department vehicles in ire -- they are targeting their frustrations at a force they otherwise cannot do anything to, and any wild animal incident is then used as an excuse. This is why establishing healthy communication between the locals and authorities is critical Shift from reactive measures (such as compensation) to proactive measures such as providing assistance in building livestock shelters, assistance for community run electric fences, awareness about the issue and possible solutions that arise out of discussion with the communities themselves rather than techno management solutions that are top down.

Fencing the forest for elephants has seen to be a failure in neighbouring Sri Lanka because elephants live on both sides. They do not accept the notion of a fence. Community managed fences around croplands are much more effective. Only a combination of a good understanding of wildlife outside Protected Areas and combining it with a focus on the human dimension in a proactive way is the way forward to shift from conflict to a more peaceful relationship between wildlife and humans in India. A relationship that is as old as our civilisation.

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Adorable baby elephants practice play-fighting with each other

Two baby elephants at the Pinnawala Elephant Camp in southern Sri Lanka were filmed playfighting with each other, nudging each other and wrestling with their trunks. The two calves, one male and one female, were filmed at the elephant sanctuary on August 10

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Unchained Herd Of Elephants Loitering in Elephant Camp

Description

Herd of Elephants filmed munching leaves and loitering in the camp in Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage.Normally these elephants are chained and fenced in parks.But elephants in pinnawala are not chained as these elephants are tamed elephants and well behaved.

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Runaway elephant rescued in Sri Lanka following 24-hour operation

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The young elephant had been destroying crops and raiding homes in southern Sri Lanka after becoming separated from his herd months ago. He had become such a nuisance that a team of vets from the Sri Lanka Air Force were forced to step in to help forest officials capture him. The rescuers expertly looped rope around the elephant’s hooves before walking him onto the back of a waiting truck.

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ELEPHANT FOUND SHOT AND KILLED IN RATHMALE

The remains of an elephant believed to have been shot and killed by poachers has been uncovered in the Rathmale forest reserve, said Ada Derana reporter.

The elephant is aged between 15-20 years and approximately 7-and-a-half feet in height, according to wildlife officers.

The postmortem examination of the elephant is slated to be carried out by the officers of Giritale Wildlife Office.

Further investigations on the incident are conducted by the wildlife officers attached to Kaudulla National Park.

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Elephant gets stuck in railway fencing while fleeing villagers in Karnataka, chokes to death

A wild elephant was killed near Karnataka’s Nagarhole National Park on Saturday as it was trying to flee chasing villagers, adding to the spiralling count of deaths caused by human-animal conflicts.

The tusker, which raided farms in Bharthawadi village in the early hours, was running back into the nearby Veeranahosahalli forest when it got trapped by the railway fencing erected by the Karnataka forest department.

As it tried to heave itself over the fence, it reportedly collapsed under its own weight and its diaphragm got crushed, after which it was unable to breathe and choked to death.

Since 2013, the Karnataka forest department has been setting up railway fencing in national parks in the state as a conflict-mitigation measure. In the first phase of the project, it erected 33 kms of fencing. A further 220 kms of fencing, to be completed with a budget of Rs 220 crores, has been sanctioned.

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She-elephant, calf rescued from unprotected well

A she-elephant and a calf that fell into an unprotected well in a cultivated land at

Konaragama in Ehetuwewa were rescued from drowning by wildlife conservators.

The she-elephant was 35 years old and 8ft tall while the calf was about three years old.

Residents in the area said a herd of about 20 elephants were frequenting the area and destroying crops.

Head of the Galgamuwa Wildlife Conservation Oce Luxman Rohitha, Wildlife Guard K.D.S.M. Kanakaratne, Civil Defence personnel G.G.N.S. Jayakody and G.G.S.K. Bandara and volunteers Namal Dissanayake and Chanaka Sandaruwan saved the two elephants and released them into the jungle.

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Foundation laid for elephant shelter

The foundation stone-laying ceremony of the proposed building complex to provide shelter
to elephants of the Ruhunu Kataragama Maha Devala was held yesterday.

Addressing the ceremony, Basnayake Nilame Dilruwan Rajapakse said the project costing
Rs.20 million would include bathing places in a natural surrounding for the elephants and living quarters for mahouts and their helpers.

He said the elephants would not be chained in the building complex and that facilities would
be provided to clean them at regular intervals and to provide prompt treatment for any illness.

Chief Sanghanayake of the Ruhunu Magam Pattu and Chief Incumbent of the Kirivehera Rajamaha Vihara, Ven. Kobawaka Dhaminda Thera and Chief Adhikarana Sanghanayake of the
Ruhunu Magam Pattu, Chief Incumbent of the Sri Abhinawarama Temple Ven. Kapugama
Sarana Tissa Thera performed religious activities.

Maha Bethme Lekham of the Devala Dayananda Adhikari, Head Kapurala Lalith Ratnayake,
Administrative Secretary to the Basnayake Nilame’s oce Jayantha Wijesinghe and workers
of the Devala were present at the occasion.

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Wild elephant electrocuted to death in Kantale

A wild elephant has died by electrocution in Wanela –Kantale last night (12), stated Ada Derana reporter.

Reportedly, the elephant had come in contact with a high voltage electric fence erected around a house garden in Wanela area. The elephant had been electrocuted when it destroyed the electric fence using a Neem (Kohomba) tree branch.

According to the Wildlife Department officials, the deceased elephant had been 40 years of age and nearly 9 feet high.

The owner of the garden is being produced before the Kantale Magistrate’s Court.

The post mortem on the elephant will be conducted today (13) and further investigations will be conducted by the Kantale Police and Kantale Wildlife Department officials.

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Heartbreaking video shows injured elephant being treated after collapsing

An injured elephant was found near a town in Sri Lanka toppled over into a mudpit after hurting its foot, triggering a rescue and aid effort for the lost beast. The elephant was found in the

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WATCH | Elephant escapes canal on ladder made of rope, tyres and sticks

The elephant fell into a canal in Welikanda, eastern Sri Lanka.

The Daily Mail reports that footage shows an elephant wade across a canal, before spotting the specially crafted rope ladder made for him by the department of wildlife conservation.

It took six hours and multiple attempts, but eventually the elephant manages to climb up the ladder and out of the canal. As soon as he's on dry land, he charges off.

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Four men possessing priceless elephant pearls arrested

Four men were arrested in Kandy on Sunday on charges of possessing 11 priceless elephant
pearls.

Ocers from the Kandy Division of the Crimes Prevention Unit, arrested the suspects during
raids carried out near the Kandy Lake and the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

“The arrests had been carried out based on the information provided by an informant,” the
Police said.

The ocers pretending to be buyers had acted as decoys.

Police said the suspects, between 27 and 40 years, were residents of Badulla, Monaragala,
Ampara and Wellawaya.

They were handed over to the Kandy Police for further investigations.

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RAILWAYS LAUNCHES SMS ALERTS TO PREVENT ELEPHANT COLLISIONS

An SMS alert service has been commenced as of yesterday (10), as the first phase of the project on reducing train collisions with elephants.

This implementation will be carried out based on the information gathered from the Department of Wildlife, the general public and the officers of railway service.

Accordingly, this 24-hour SMS alert service would be executed to send out information on elephants roaming around railway lines.

Speaking to the media at a media briefing at the Railways Head Quarters, the General Manager of Railways (GMR) M.J. Dilantha Fernando said train-elephant collisions could not be stopped 100 percent but it could be controlled.

“People can inform about elephant herds through the hotline 24-hours. As soon as an SMS sent to through this number it will be recorded in a system in the Wildlife Department. “Then the SMS will be forwarded to Railways Department and then forwarded to a registered group in the railways.

“The group consists of engine drivers, rail guards, rail track supervisory managers, gatemen, people who live near railway lines affected by the elephant-human conflict, station masters where the elephant herd passes, people living along the tracks and all stakeholders who are interested on elephant-human conflict,” GMR Fernando said.

The SMS will be delivered among the group as ‘Elephant ALT’,” he said. He said that a typical SMS Alert would indicate the number of elephants, location, area, and the time and the track. Sample SMS – ElephantALT – Elephant Herd – Seen at 128.5 mile post – Between Galgamuwa-Tabuttegama at 19.34 – North Line

Meanwhile, the General Manager of Railways (GMR) Dilantha Fernando says that the Railway Department intends to deploy the power-set train imported from India for commuting without delay.

He said that a group of Indian officials had run tests yesterday, to detect defects on the imported train.

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That's no Dumbo! Trapped elephant clambers out of canal after rescuers throw it an ingenious ladder made of rope, tyres and sticks

This is the ingenious moment a lost elephant was able to clamber onto a specially crafted rope ladder and escape from a canal.

The elephant, estimated to be 25-years-old, had fallen into a canal in Welikanda near Polonnaruwa, eastern Sri Lanka, when wildlife officials decided to devise a plan.

Footage shows the elephant wade across the canal's waters before spotting the specially crafted rope ladder made for him by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

To read the full article, click on the story title.

That's no Dumbo! Trapped elephant clambers out of canal after rescuers throw it an ingenious ladder made of rope, tyres and sticks

This is the ingenious moment a lost elephant was able to clamber onto a specially crafted rope ladder and escape from a canal.

The elephant, estimated to be 25-years-old, had fallen into a canal in Welikanda near Polonnaruwa, eastern Sri Lanka, when wildlife officials decided to devise a plan.

Footage shows the elephant wade across the canal's waters before spotting the specially crafted rope ladder made for him by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

To read the full article, click on the story title.

Four arrested in possession of Gaja Muthu

Colombo (News 1st) – Four men were arrested in Kandy for the possession of Gaja Muthu or elephant pearls valued at over Rs. 40 Million.

Elephant pearls are formed naturally within the tusks of elephants. Police said the Kandy Anti-Vice Unit used undercover agents and detectives to arrest the suspects.

Three men were arrested with 08 elephant pearls opposite the Kandy Pallekele International Cricket Stadium while the other was arrested with 03 elephant pearls close to the Kandy Wewa.

The suspects will be produced in court today.

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Caring for the treasured jumbos

The month began on a sad note for Sri Lanka’s wildlife enthusiasts, when an 11-year-old tusker was shot dead in Udawalawe National Park, about 160 km southeast of Colombo. The results of the post-mortem examination pointed to a fatal bullet injury in the animal’s head.
Caretakers in the park told local media that the calf, which had two tusks, had no history of menacing people living in the area. Authorities have since been trying to find the person who fired at the elephant.

In fact, 2018 hasn’t been great for Sri Lanka’s tuskers, which are venerated as a “national treasure” and have been a huge tourist draw for decades. As many as 277 elephants have died during the year, due to causes such as electrocution, accidents on railway tracks, ‘Hakka Patas’ or traps made of explosives, and gun shots fired by people guarding their crops from the animal. Last year, as many as 256 tuskers died, according to Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation.

In a bid to address the growing threat to the elephant population — over 6,000 across the island — authorities are taking a range of measures from electric fencing to earmarking some zones as “protected areas”, Department spokesperson Hasini Sarathchandra said. “We are also trying to increase awareness among people through schools in areas near the different national parks,” she told The Hindu.

The task at hand is not easy, especially in the wake of growing environmental challenges — both natural and man-made. In July, a tusker was found washed out to sea and was later rescued by the Sri Lankan Navy, whose personnel spotted the animal in distress and towed it to the shore. Officials suspected that the elephant might have been swept into the sea while crossing the Kokkilai lagoon, near Mullaitivu and Trincomalee districts in the island’s northeast. The prolonged drought in the region was pushing the elephants off their usual course in the nearby jungles.

Illegal waste dumps

In September, authorities launched a probe into the death of wild elephants in a marsh in the island’s east. Illegal waste dumps have also emerged a serious source of danger for elephants. Earlier this year, AFP reported the spotting of a herd of wild elephants foraging for food in a mountain of garbage in central Sri Lanka. The animals were swallowing dangerous material from the illegal waste dump, including plastic mixed with decaying food. Meanwhile, human-elephant conflict remains a key challenge for people living near forest areas. Until November 30 this year, 88 people have died after being attacked by the beasts. “You can’t completely eliminate human-animal conflict, but you can mitigate it to a significant extent,” according to Jayantha Jayawardena, an expert on Asian elephants.

Especially so, in the case of fatal train accidents that make frequent headlines here. In September, a train transporting oil across the island killed two baby elephants and their mother. Last month, a passenger train hit and killed three young elephants in eastern Sri Lanka.

“The Wildlife and Railway Departments got together and agreed on certain measures to address this problem, but nothing gets implemented. The human element in this has been very negative,” said Mr. Jayawardena, managing trustee of the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust. In his view, authorities do not have a much-needed proactive conservation strategy, but are often “just firefighting”. “If an elephant calf inside a national park is shot dead, then where else can the animal be safe in our country,” he asked, referring to the December 1 incident.

Meera Srinivasan works for The Hindu and is based in Colombo.

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SMS alerts for train drivers about wild elephants

Colombo (News 1st) – The Department of Railways is preparing to launch a program to alert train drivers and engineers about wild elephants roaming close to railway tracks via SMS.

The program will commence on Monday and it is one of the recommendations made by the committee appointed to prevent the deaths of wild elephants by trains accidents.

A 24-hour operations center is to be set up to coordinate the SMS service.

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Four baby elephants that strayed into human habitats saved

Four baby elephants that strayed away from the herd and roamed into human habitats had
been captured and handed over to the Girithale Wildlife Veterinary Hospital for treatment and
care until they were handed over to the Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home.

A senior ocial of the Veterinary Hospital said three male calves and a female calf were being
treated at the hospital.

He said four calves had been handed over to the hospital by Wildlife Conservators in Vavuniya, Kantale and the Gomarankadawala areas by wildlife conservation officers.

He said the calves were between two and five months of age and one of them had fallen into a
canal and was bitten by a crocodile while the other had sustained minor injuries.

Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Dinusha De Silva said the four calves would be handed over to
Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home after recovery

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Elephant Calf Rescued from a House Creates Ruckus in Srilanka

Description An elephant calf has been stranded in a house near the Weerawila Tissa main road this morning.The rescued elephant was handed over to the Wildlife Officers by the Local Villagers.Wildlife officials are suspecting that the baby elephant could have been stranded due to the elephant culling of the wild elephants in the Weerawila area these days. It is also reported that a herd of wild elephants are roaming in that area trying to locate the elephant calf.Efforts have been taken by the wildlife officials to reunite the calf with the mother elephant after treating the injured elephant calf.

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Sri Lanka- Video of young Lankan girl controlling elephant

Sri Lanka- Video of young Lankan girl controlling elephant

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Sri Lanka- Elephant killed in train accident near Mankulam

(MENAFN - Colombo Gazette) /> Colombo Gazette Home News Sports Business Opinion Advertorial Feature Lifestyle / Events Travel Your Health Home News Elephant killed in train accident near Mankulam News Elephant killed in train accident near Mankulam December 4, 2018 - 12:26 11

An elephant was killed after being hit by a train near Mankulam today.

The train which was operating between Colombo and Jaffna crashed into the male elephant this morning.

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Sri Lanka- Elephant killed in train accident near Mankulam

An elephant was killed after being hit by a train near Mankulam today.

The train which was operating between Colombo and Jaffna crashed into the male elephant this morning.

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Elephant calf found shot dead in Udawalawe

An eleven-yearold elephant that lived in Udawalawe National Park, had been shot dead in the

Udawalawe Reservoir area early Saturday morning, Rangers of the Department of Wild Life
Conservation said.

They said that the elephant calf had two feet tusks (60 cm) and it was identied by its identity
number of T 212.

It has been killed between two electric fences on Udawalawe-thanamalwila Road. It was having a tussock in his trunk when it was killed.

It has been revealed in the postmortem examination that the elephant had died due to a bullet
penetrated its head.“there are two bullets that had penetrated into its head and one bullet was
long about one cm,” the report said. Caretaker of the Park R.A.D.D. Samaranayake said the
dead elephant was not the elephant identied by Mugalan. “There was no news that this elephant cub has caused damages to the general public. The elephant called Rambo is violent and
has broken two electric fences and gone out of the fences,” he said.

“This cub could have joined Rambo and has gone in search of food,” he said.
The elephant calf had been roaming the areas of 5th Mile Post, 7th Mile Post, Mahaduwa, according to Rangers.

According to Veterinary Surgeon of the WLCD, it has been killed on December 01 after 1.30
a.m.“as this region is used as grazing area by cattle farmers, cattle thieves illegally come to
steal the animals.

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Elephant calf found shot dead in Udawalawe

An eleven-yearold elephant that lived in Udawalawe National Park, had been shot dead in the
Udawalawe Reservoir area early Saturday morning, Rangers of the Department of Wild Life
Conservation said.

They said that the elephant calf had two feet tusks (60 cm) and it was identied by its identity
number of T 212.

It has been killed between two electric fences on Udawalawe-thanamalwila Road. It was having a tussock in his trunk when it was killed.

It has been revealed in the postmortem examination that the elephant had died due to a bullet
penetrated its head.“there are two bullets that had penetrated into its head and one bullet was
long about one cm,” the report said. Caretaker of the Park R.A.D.D. Samaranayake said the
dead elephant was not the elephant identied by Mugalan. “There was no news that this elephant cub has caused damages to the general public. The elephant called Rambo is violent and
has broken two electric fences and gone out of the fences,” he said.

“This cub could have joined Rambo and has gone in search of food,” he said.

The elephant calf had been roaming the areas of 5th Mile Post, 7th Mile Post, Mahaduwa, according to Rangers.

According to Veterinary Surgeon of the WLCD, it has been killed on December 01 after 1.30
a.m.“as this region is used as grazing area by cattle farmers, cattle thieves illegally come to
steal the animals.

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Another elephant shot and killed!

Another elephant had been shot and killed in the vicinity of the Udawalawe tank.

According to the Wildlife Director General Chandana Sooriyabandara, this elephant had been killed early this morning.

The elephant is believed to be around 10-15 years. The post-mortem examination on the dead animal is expected to be carried out today.

The Wildlife Director General stated that the Wildlife Department is working together with the police to apprehend those responsible for the killing of this elephant.

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