Welcome to Elephant News Sri Lanka. This site is intended to be a public service to those wishing to keep up to date with events and issues affecting elephants in Sri Lanka.
Showing posts with label elephant calf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elephant calf. Show all posts
Saturday, December 15, 2018
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.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://ww.preswsreader.com/sri-lanka/daily-mirror-sri-lanka/20181215/281900184304491
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Death toll of wild elephants trapped in bog reaches 9
The number of wild elephants who had died after getting bogged down in a marshy land in the Thummodara section of the Periyaaru River had increased to nine by yesterday. Asst. Director of Wildlife Conservation, Polonnaruwa Zone, W.m.d.j.wickremesinghe said.
He said the carcass of an elephant calf was found when clearing the rank swampland that created a death-trap for wild elephants that roam the jungle in search of fodder. He said the calf was about two years of age and that it would have been part of the herd, the carcasses of which had been found earlier.
He said when the carcasses of the seven elephants were discovered earlier, Minister of Wildlife and Sustainable Development Sarath Fonseka and Deputy Minister
Palitha Thewarapperuma visited the scene and instructed the officials to remove the rank vegetation that camouflaged the swamp that looked like bare land covered with plants. The official said the wild elephants had stepped into the marshy land which looked deceptively like a bare land that was covered with plants.
The Wildlife Zonal Director further said clearing the rank vegetation was a temporary measure and pointed out that the authorities need to prevent the recurrence of a similar incident in the future.
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He said the carcass of an elephant calf was found when clearing the rank swampland that created a death-trap for wild elephants that roam the jungle in search of fodder. He said the calf was about two years of age and that it would have been part of the herd, the carcasses of which had been found earlier.
He said when the carcasses of the seven elephants were discovered earlier, Minister of Wildlife and Sustainable Development Sarath Fonseka and Deputy Minister
Palitha Thewarapperuma visited the scene and instructed the officials to remove the rank vegetation that camouflaged the swamp that looked like bare land covered with plants. The official said the wild elephants had stepped into the marshy land which looked deceptively like a bare land that was covered with plants.
The Wildlife Zonal Director further said clearing the rank vegetation was a temporary measure and pointed out that the authorities need to prevent the recurrence of a similar incident in the future.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/daily-mirror-sri-lanka/20180908/281805694817095
Friday, June 08, 2018
Cow elephant and calf rescued in Suriyawewa
One cow elephant and a calf had been rescued from a cultivation-well in the Weliara area in Suriyawewa, Wild Life Conservation Department Officers of Hambantota said.
The cow elephant and its calf had come in search of food and had fallen into a cultivation well, J.A.P. Wijaya Kumara of Wild Life Office in Hambantota said.
“Due to unprotected cultivation wells excavated by farmers, the lives of elephants, which are coming in search of food in shrubs near villages are in danger as they face severe food crisis due to the loss of their shelters, he said.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/daily-mirror-sri-lanka/20180521/282376925237751
Sunday, April 08, 2018
Elephant calf rescued from waterhole (Pics)
The Karuwalagaswewa wildlife officials had taken measures to rescue an elephant calf that had fallen into a waterhole and take him to the Pandulagama, Anuradhapura regional wildlife office for treatment.
The elephant calf was rescued on April 03.
The Karuwalagaswewa regional secretary Janaka Balasooriya had been notified that an elephant calf had fallen into a water filled hole in a quarry in the middle of a jungle area in Kuda Medawachchiya in Karuwalagaswewa. Acting swiftly, the said officer had gathered a team of wildlife officers and rushed to the location and rescued the elephant calf.
The elephant calf is said to be around four years old and it had sustained injuries to its legs and mouth.
The wildlife officers said the elephant calf may have been in the water hole for around two days and may have sustained the injuries while trying to get out of it.
They suspect that the elephant calf may have come to that spot with its mother and not being able to rescue the calf, the mother elephant may have abandoned it and returned to the jungle.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:
https://srilankamirror.com/photo-story/7970-elephant-calf-rescued-from-waterhole-pics
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Elephant and calf rescued after falling into ditch near Mattala Airport
An elephant and her calf who had fallen into a unprotected ditch in front of the Mattala International Airport was rescued today (8) by wildlife officers. The two animals were rescued after an operation lasting over two ours by officers from the Department of Wildlife Conservation's (DWC) Hambantota Office and the Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home.
Wildlife officers said they had rescued three elephant calves from Hambantota District this year after they fell into ditches.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1036230/elephant-and-calf-rescued-after-falling-into-ditch-near-mattala-airport
Wildlife officers said they had rescued three elephant calves from Hambantota District this year after they fell into ditches.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1036230/elephant-and-calf-rescued-after-falling-into-ditch-near-mattala-airport
Friday, August 25, 2017
Explosives killing hundreds of elephants, protection handicapped
A four-year-old elephant, which had suffered severe injuries after biting an explosives-packed device used to hunt wild animals for human consumption is fighting for its life.
The illegal device commonly known as —‘hakka pattas’ — a mixture of explosives with lead and ball bearings inserted into a piece of pumpkin had been placed in a location in Hambantota. It is at that site where the wounded animal had been found nearly two weeks after the incident.
The explosion had mutilated its jaw bones, teeth, and ripped off a foot long piece of trunk. The animal is being treated at the Elephant Transit Home Udawalawe.
Veterinary surgeon, Dr Malaka Abeywardena told the Sunday Times that even after three days of treatment, there had not been any improvement as of Friday.
“Due to the damage to the jaw and teeth of the elephant calf it has to take liquid food. It is malnourished and weak making anaesthetised surgery impossible.’’
Dr Abeywardena said that that the calf would have roamed near Hambantota harbour for over a week after being wounded. The animal’s mouth and the side of it’s head was infested with maggots.
“Antibiotics are given twice a day, while saline, energy boosting medicine and vitamins are given regularly,’’ he said.
Incidents of elephants being killed by using hakka patas, shooting them or poisoning them are on the rise.
Within the last five years, from 2012 to 2016 around 1,171 elephants have died out of which only 104 had died due to natural causes, according to the Wildlife Department.
The survey on the elephant population done in 2011 revealed that the number of elephants in the country around 5,800.
Statistics show that during last year alone 279 elephants were found dead and only 35 of them had died due to natural causes.
Dr Tharaka Prasad, director of wildlife health at the Wildlife Department as well as the chief veterinary surgeon, said more deaths take place because of gun shot wounds.
He said that a tusker and another elephant suffering from gunshot injuries are struggling for their lives in Kala Wewa, Anuradhapura and in Minneriya respectively.
“Elephants which are shot can only be identified when the animal shows signs of weakness or seen limping towards a pool of water. Its too late then as it is badly infected by that time,’’ he said.
Dr Prasad noted instances of elephants wounded by trap guns set up by farmers and surviving for years after the wounds heal, but the corrosion of the iron balls embedded in their flesh, kills them eventually.
He explained that some farmers kill elephants by using toxic pesticide in vegetables. Electric fences can also kill elephants in minutes or within days.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170813/news/explosives-killing-hundreds-of-elephants-protection-handicapped-254356.html
The illegal device commonly known as —‘hakka pattas’ — a mixture of explosives with lead and ball bearings inserted into a piece of pumpkin had been placed in a location in Hambantota. It is at that site where the wounded animal had been found nearly two weeks after the incident.
The explosion had mutilated its jaw bones, teeth, and ripped off a foot long piece of trunk. The animal is being treated at the Elephant Transit Home Udawalawe.
Veterinary surgeon, Dr Malaka Abeywardena told the Sunday Times that even after three days of treatment, there had not been any improvement as of Friday.
“Due to the damage to the jaw and teeth of the elephant calf it has to take liquid food. It is malnourished and weak making anaesthetised surgery impossible.’’
Dr Abeywardena said that that the calf would have roamed near Hambantota harbour for over a week after being wounded. The animal’s mouth and the side of it’s head was infested with maggots.
“Antibiotics are given twice a day, while saline, energy boosting medicine and vitamins are given regularly,’’ he said.
Incidents of elephants being killed by using hakka patas, shooting them or poisoning them are on the rise.
Within the last five years, from 2012 to 2016 around 1,171 elephants have died out of which only 104 had died due to natural causes, according to the Wildlife Department.
The survey on the elephant population done in 2011 revealed that the number of elephants in the country around 5,800.
Statistics show that during last year alone 279 elephants were found dead and only 35 of them had died due to natural causes.
Dr Tharaka Prasad, director of wildlife health at the Wildlife Department as well as the chief veterinary surgeon, said more deaths take place because of gun shot wounds.
He said that a tusker and another elephant suffering from gunshot injuries are struggling for their lives in Kala Wewa, Anuradhapura and in Minneriya respectively.
“Elephants which are shot can only be identified when the animal shows signs of weakness or seen limping towards a pool of water. Its too late then as it is badly infected by that time,’’ he said.
Dr Prasad noted instances of elephants wounded by trap guns set up by farmers and surviving for years after the wounds heal, but the corrosion of the iron balls embedded in their flesh, kills them eventually.
He explained that some farmers kill elephants by using toxic pesticide in vegetables. Electric fences can also kill elephants in minutes or within days.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/170813/news/explosives-killing-hundreds-of-elephants-protection-handicapped-254356.html
Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Sri Lankan baby elephant gets international attention
The elephant donated to South Korea by the Sri Lankan government in 2010 got quite a fright when her baby fell into a pool at the Grand Park Zoo in Seoul, South Korea.
The footage recorded by the zoo shows the curious one-year-old elephant – christened ‘Korilanka’ to mark the ties between Sri Lanka and Korea – getting close to the water’s edge and accidentally tumbling in.
Fortunately, the baby elephant was not actually drowning, says Joyce Poole, a National Geographic explorer and co-founder of Elephant Voices: “When elephants swim, they put their trunk out of the water and continue to breathe.”
In the video, the National Geographic reports, the baby can be seen doing this snorkeling behavior—meaning it was in no imminent danger.
Even though the family knows the baby can swim, they are still clearly alarmed it has fallen in without meaning to, as evidenced by their quickly flapping ears, says Poole.
Even the elephant in the background of the video, separated by a fence, starts rapidly pacing back and forth.
“Elephants are drama queens, especially the females. If anything kind of dramatic events happens in the family, it is cause for great excitement,” Poole explains. “It is part of the bonding process.”
The uniquely close family bonds and capacity for empathy of elephants is evident in this display. Only one of the female elephants that helps the baby is its parent, the mother. The other larger, older elephant that springs into action to help,a 36-year-old, is a bonded family member that gets just as worried about the infant as its own mother.
National Geographic points out that in the wild, the older female elephant would likely be a grandmother or aunt of the baby, but in captivity, unrelated elephants are housed together and still form close bonds.
In the video, the two bonded females are clearly close as they coordinate to help the baby out of the water and back to the safety of dry land, the National Geographic reports.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://dailynews.lk/2017/06/24/local/119885/sri-lankan-baby-elephant-gets-international-attention
The footage recorded by the zoo shows the curious one-year-old elephant – christened ‘Korilanka’ to mark the ties between Sri Lanka and Korea – getting close to the water’s edge and accidentally tumbling in.
Fortunately, the baby elephant was not actually drowning, says Joyce Poole, a National Geographic explorer and co-founder of Elephant Voices: “When elephants swim, they put their trunk out of the water and continue to breathe.”
In the video, the National Geographic reports, the baby can be seen doing this snorkeling behavior—meaning it was in no imminent danger.
Even though the family knows the baby can swim, they are still clearly alarmed it has fallen in without meaning to, as evidenced by their quickly flapping ears, says Poole.
Even the elephant in the background of the video, separated by a fence, starts rapidly pacing back and forth.
“Elephants are drama queens, especially the females. If anything kind of dramatic events happens in the family, it is cause for great excitement,” Poole explains. “It is part of the bonding process.”
The uniquely close family bonds and capacity for empathy of elephants is evident in this display. Only one of the female elephants that helps the baby is its parent, the mother. The other larger, older elephant that springs into action to help,a 36-year-old, is a bonded family member that gets just as worried about the infant as its own mother.
National Geographic points out that in the wild, the older female elephant would likely be a grandmother or aunt of the baby, but in captivity, unrelated elephants are housed together and still form close bonds.
In the video, the two bonded females are clearly close as they coordinate to help the baby out of the water and back to the safety of dry land, the National Geographic reports.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://dailynews.lk/2017/06/24/local/119885/sri-lankan-baby-elephant-gets-international-attention
Thursday, June 08, 2017
Two elephants rescued from well in Hambantota
A female elephant and her calf who had fallen into an agricultural well in Bathalayagama, Hambantota have been rescued by officers from the Hambantota Wildlife Range Office.
After being informed of the two trapped elephants he officers used a backhoe to dig a path for the elephants to get out of the well. The operation took over an hour.
Wildlife officers believe that the two elephants had remained trapped inside the well for about two days.
They also said that the trunk of the baby elephant exhibited signs of injury. It is suspected that the elephant had been injured after getting caught in barbed wire in a trap set by hunters.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1022142/two-elephants-rescued-from-well-in-hambantota
After being informed of the two trapped elephants he officers used a backhoe to dig a path for the elephants to get out of the well. The operation took over an hour.
Wildlife officers believe that the two elephants had remained trapped inside the well for about two days.
They also said that the trunk of the baby elephant exhibited signs of injury. It is suspected that the elephant had been injured after getting caught in barbed wire in a trap set by hunters.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.sundaytimes.lk/article/1022142/two-elephants-rescued-from-well-in-hambantota
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Elephant calf and its mother rescued from Sri Lanka well
An elephant calf and its mother were rescued after being trapped in a well for over two days in Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
A heart warming video shows wildlife workers using a digger to help save the two distressed elephants.
The workers had to dig a path for the elephants so that they could navigate their way out of the well.
According to the wildlife team, the jumbos had remained trapped in the agricultural well for over two days.
But when Hambantota Wildlife got a call about the incident, they managed to rescue the elephants within an hour.
After making their way out of the well, the elephants made their way into the nearby forest range.
This is not the first heartwarming elephant rescue.
An elephant calf and its mother were rescued after being trapped in a well for over two days in Hambantota, Sri Lanka
In February a six-year-old female elephant was rescued after she fell 30ft into a dried-up farm well in Southern India.
To read the full article, click on the story title
A heart warming video shows wildlife workers using a digger to help save the two distressed elephants.
The workers had to dig a path for the elephants so that they could navigate their way out of the well.
According to the wildlife team, the jumbos had remained trapped in the agricultural well for over two days.
But when Hambantota Wildlife got a call about the incident, they managed to rescue the elephants within an hour.
After making their way out of the well, the elephants made their way into the nearby forest range.
This is not the first heartwarming elephant rescue.
An elephant calf and its mother were rescued after being trapped in a well for over two days in Hambantota, Sri Lanka
In February a six-year-old female elephant was rescued after she fell 30ft into a dried-up farm well in Southern India.
To read the full article, click on the story title
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Four elephants were hoisted from a well, using ropes and a digger in a dramatic rescue.
The elephants were spotted by locals after they had fallen into a well in Kombuvaittakulam, an area in the Sri Lankan town of Omanthai.
It is believed that the two adult elephants and two calves had come to drink water from the well.
After villagers raised an alarm, a rescue team arrived at the spot to get the giant animals out from the well.
A forest official said: “First, we rescued the elephant calves with ropes as it was difficult to bring in a digger to the area.
“But when we were unable to rescue the adult elephants using ropes, we somehow managed to bring in the digger and managed to pull them out,” he added.
In the video, the frightened elephants can be seen trying to attack the digger, however, the wildlife officials blasted water bombs to chase them away.
The elephants ran towards the nearby forest after the rescue operation.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.storytrender.com/four-elephants-rescued-falling-well-sri-lanka/
It is believed that the two adult elephants and two calves had come to drink water from the well.
After villagers raised an alarm, a rescue team arrived at the spot to get the giant animals out from the well.
A forest official said: “First, we rescued the elephant calves with ropes as it was difficult to bring in a digger to the area.
“But when we were unable to rescue the adult elephants using ropes, we somehow managed to bring in the digger and managed to pull them out,” he added.
In the video, the frightened elephants can be seen trying to attack the digger, however, the wildlife officials blasted water bombs to chase them away.
The elephants ran towards the nearby forest after the rescue operation.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.storytrender.com/four-elephants-rescued-falling-well-sri-lanka/
Saturday, November 05, 2016
Ailing elephant gives birth to male calf in Tamil Nadu
NK Tamil Nadu, Chennai , Oct. 25 : An ailing 45-year-old female elephant gave birth to a male calf in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore city on Monday.
Forest officials and veterinarians were catering to the animal ever since she was spotted by villagers lying on a ground near a temple last Tuesday.
The animal's condition was not very encouraging as she kept lying on her side. In their bid to revive her, the doctors gave her vitamins and food to which it responded positively.
Later, she was shifted to the Chadivayal elephant camp for proper treatment.
Veterinarian Manoharan said the pachyderm had a normal delivery.
"Today morning around 4:30 a m, she delivered a male baby in lying posture, normal delivery. So probably, the strength, vitamins, minerals, all the support which we gave, gave her the strength to deliver a normal baby. So, now the mother is taking care," said Manoharan.
Manoharan added that they were checking on her health and giving her treatment.
It is believed that the elephant may have strayed from her herd.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.newkerala.com/news/2016/fullnews-134856.html
Forest officials and veterinarians were catering to the animal ever since she was spotted by villagers lying on a ground near a temple last Tuesday.
The animal's condition was not very encouraging as she kept lying on her side. In their bid to revive her, the doctors gave her vitamins and food to which it responded positively.
Later, she was shifted to the Chadivayal elephant camp for proper treatment.
Veterinarian Manoharan said the pachyderm had a normal delivery.
"Today morning around 4:30 a m, she delivered a male baby in lying posture, normal delivery. So probably, the strength, vitamins, minerals, all the support which we gave, gave her the strength to deliver a normal baby. So, now the mother is taking care," said Manoharan.
Manoharan added that they were checking on her health and giving her treatment.
It is believed that the elephant may have strayed from her herd.
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.newkerala.com/news/2016/fullnews-134856.html
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