Two remaining jumbos to be kept in ‘safe’ area: SF

Wildlife Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said that the two elephants that remain in the
Sinharaja Forest Reserve would be kept in an area measuring 80 acres within the forest reserve
in order to mitigate the issues with regard to the elephant-human conict
that had
arisen.
Minister Fonseka told a news conference on Wednesday that there was nothing wrong in it
statutory wise and added that the Director General of wildlife had all the powers provided by
the legislation on wildlife conservation to take decisions that help to safeguard elephants.
“We are doing this not only to protect humans but also for the sake of the elephants.
Presently we are treating four elephants that were injured by trap guns used by poachers,” he
said.
“When people feel unsafe they use trap guns and ‘hakkapatas’ to drive away elephants, which
in turn end up killing them. Earlier, there were 17 elephants in the We are doing this not only
to protect humans but also for the sake of the elephants. Presently we are treating four elephants
that were injured by trap guns used by poachers Sinharaja Forest Reserve, but now
only two are left. Most of them have perished as a result of the humanelephant conict,”
he
added. He said the two elephants that remain were reported to have killed at least 15 people
and 200 cattle while also destroying 300 coconut trees, adding that the only solution was to
isolate the two animals in order to keep them safe and by doing so give the villagers peace of
mind. Earlier, President Maithripala Sirisena instructed ocials
to suspend the transfer of
these two elephants from the Sinharaja Forest Reserve until a proper remedy to the humanelephant
conict
was found.

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People live in fear due to elephant threats in Mihintale

The villagers of the up-stream of Mahakanadarawa wewa in Mihintale live in fear and suffer due to elephant threats on these days.

The people who live in many villages such as Pothana, ihalagama, Netiyagama, neesiyagama, Weruppankulama, pudukkulama, Surukkulama, Nochchikulama, Maradankalla, Mudewa,welankulama and Karadikkulama are suffering and living in fear.

A lone elephant that roamed into a house in Surukkulama village last Friday (13) had destroyed the cultivated crops of the people and eaten several bags of ‘kurakkan’ and gone back to the forest after destroying the brick walls of the house. An adult couple had lived in this house when the elephant had come and attacked their abode.

When the elephant had attacked the house the woman had fled the house and escaped. The victim K. Wimalawathi (68) said the couple was engaged in agriculture and that her husband(71) had gone to a nearby village for work due to prevailing drought. According to her, the elephant had destroyed everything that they earned during their lifetime.

They said that Mihintale Pradeshiya Sabha had used the government forest reserve to dump garbage and the elephants are attracted to the household garbage. Therefore, the villagers request the Minister of Wildlife to take steps to drive away the elephants to a distant forest.


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Protest in Lunugamvehera against proposed elephant fence

Residents from four villages in Devramvehera and Lunugamwehera staged a protest this morning (Jul 13) saying that authorities are planning to erect an elephant fence across their farmlands.

The protesters blocked the Matara - Wellawaya road at the 70th Post in Devramvehera this morning.

Our correspondent stated that the protesters dispersed after Lunugamwehera Divisional Secretary promised to find a solution.

Meanwhile, the operation launched to drive away elephants from Suriyawewa was successful.

But Walawa Left Bank Joint Farmers' Union stated that there are defects in the electric fence, which was erected to prevent the return of elephant to human habitat.

The farmers' union, President S.K. Mahinda said that the wildlife officials are responsible for the defects.


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