Students swap classroom for Sri Lankan jungle, stopping elephants from destroying crops

Five students from Alice Springs have swapped their classroom for the jungles of Sri Lanka, helping to keep elephants from crops and building a school for primary students.
St Philips College is one of 18 schools across Australia to get involved with Round Square — a global charity providing experiential learning and character education for students.

Since getting involved with the organisation in 1996, the college has taken more than 50 students to at least 10 countries.

Vocational education and training coordinator Kate Anderson took the students to Wasgamuwa National Park for three weeks to take part in the charity's Big Build project.

"The human elephant conflict is a huge problem over there," she said.

"The booming population has meant that cities are bigger and parklands are smaller.

"The elephants need specific migratory patterns. If there is a house in the way or a paddock in the way they'll still use that specific pathway."

Ms Anderson was leading a conservation project to help farmers protect their rice paddies.

"We were digging holes to plant citrus trees with local farmers because the trees proved a barrier to elephant migratory patterns," she said.

"When the trees grow up they deter the elephants from ruining the crops and damaging property. They also provide a source of income for the farmers being able to sell the oranges."

Ms Anderson said elephants and humans were dying as a result of the conflict.

"On day three at one of our farms, the farmer pointed out the elephant footprints where an elephant had walked through his farm a week before — and they were the size of dinner plates," she said.

"So yeah, that certainly puts into perspective the danger that they face every single day."

Jessica Nowland, 17, helped build a classroom and a computer room for the community there.

"We also did some clearing so that the school could have a new cricket pitch. We did some little side projects like hopscotch and built a little playground for the school as well," she said.

"It was a lot of hard work and because we didn't have all that machinery we had to do a lot of passing bricks and rubble all by hand.

"Over the days you got to know all the people around you, so it became a lot easier."

Jessica was initially overwhelmed by the differences between the arid outback of Alice Springs and Sri Lanka.

"I've never seen anything more green in my life. The trees. It's quite indescribable to be surrounded by so much life," she said.

"You would look in one spot and there'd be birds and flowers of all different colours. It was just absolutely beautiful. It was amazing for Alice Springs girls to see that sort of thing, a massive contrast.

"I've always wanted to do something with health and I feel like seeing all these different places on the other side of the world has really inspired me to travel with my profession and so I think that I will definitely be incorporating that into my future life."

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Wildlife Dept. lapses exposed by Auditor General

There have been lapses on the part of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) to protect wild elephants over the past years, the Auditor General has highlighted in a special audit.

The report prepared by the Auditor General last year observed that the number of elephants diminishing due to capture and killing is twice as much of the number of the increase.

“This decrease is a huge waste of wealth in our country.

If this decrease is not prevented immediately, under no circumstance the disappearance of Sri Lankan Elephant can be precluded,” a special report by the Auditor General on the ‘Performance of Wildlife Conservation Department’ said.

The audit had revealed that the racketeers who capture calf elephants illegally from forests had become active again due to the failure in expediting the implementation of the law in this connection. It added that the officers of the DWC had also been involved in this racket.

The report further revealed that garbage is disposed in 54 places in wildlife zones and over 300 wild elephants hang about in them. “A large number of wild elephants face various diseases and die due to intake of garbage at present and the veterinary surgeons said that various things such as non-degradable polythene, shopping bags, and plastic bottles can be seen in the stomach of elephants in post mortems carried out. Although there is an ability to avoid this condition by construction of electric–fences, the DWC had failed to carry out a proper procedure with the relevant Local Authorities,” the report stated.

The report also indicated that only one out of the 17 elephant passes identified in the country has been gazetted. “Only the elephant pass at Kawdulla –Minneriya had been published in the Gazette (in 2004). Elephant passes at ‘Koholankala, Unathuwewa, Wetahirakanda, Dahayyagala, Puwakpele, Ulhitiya, Hungamalaoya, Mahawewa, Rathnella, Digampothana, 5th Post, Nachchaduwa-Mahakandarawa, Nachchaduwa-Wilpattu, Sooriyapura, Madupara and Puluyankulama’ have not been gazetted. It is concluded that the failure in legally opening 16 identified elephant passes approved by the Cabinet of Ministers had resulted in the increase in the number of deaths of elephants and humans,” the report observed.

It pointed out that only 4 percent of the Wildlife Conservation Fund was spent on the improvement of enrichment of animals in parks. “Even though an income of Rs.1,857 million had been earned from 26 National Parks in 2016, the expenditure incurred for the habitat enrichment of the wild animals is Rs.71 million. It is a low percentage of 4 percent,” the report indicated.

The AG’s Department further highlighted that 536 vacancies of the staff existed in the DWC as at the end of 2017. “The DWC had to perform the duties of 33 vacancies through five officers. The process of decision making depended on five officers,” the report said.

According to the data of the DWC, 38 tuskers had died from 2012 to 2017. “Proper action had not been taken for the security of the Tusker ‘Dala Poottuwa’ who was blind due to gun shots. The moving pattern of that animal had not been identified.

These were an indirect support to the killing of the Tusker,” the report said. The audit report was also critical of the fact that the DWC was paying little attention on the removal of obstructions on elephant passes while spending million of Rupees on driving away elephants and the purchase of elephant crackers. “Even though an expenditure amounting to Rs.1,081 million had been incurred for the construction and maintenance of electric fences during 5 years, it was observed that equipment for electric fences valued at approximately Rs.22 million had remained idle and underutilized in the Office and Beat Offices,” the audit report revealed.

“The wildlife habitats had become polluted due to stirring up of dust as a result of entrance of a large number of vehicles at once to the Yala National Park and their fast running.

The average number of motor vehicles arriving was about 250 per day (within 10 months) and there are instances of this exceeding 700 during school vacations. As the Park is overcrowded during the hours from 6 am to 12 pm in the morning and from 2 pm to 6 pm in the evening, the traffic congestion of the Yala National Park is no better than the traffic congestion we experience in Colombo (Especially at the Palatupana Access),” the report stated.

The report also highlighted that a financial misappropriation of Rs.1.8 million had been committed at Udawalawa National Park (Rs 1.7million) and Minneriya National Park (Rs.168,020) in 2016 when issuing entry tickets.

“It is concluded that the elephant resource will become extinct in Sri Lanka within the ensuing years, if proper arrangements are l not made without delay to control the human elephant conflict,” the report observed.

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Sinharaja elephants to be transferred to protection center

A project to establish a protection center to translocate the two rare elephants in the Sinharaja forest Reserve is in progress.

The Minister of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka has proposed the exaction of sixty-two hectares of land from the Parugala area in Dolekanda Grama Niladhari division of Kalawana, which consists of adaptable environmental conditions for the two elephants.

The proposal has also received the Cabinet approval.

The attention of the government has been drawn to the recent damages to lives and properties in vicinity of Sinharaja Forest Reserve, and the protection of the two wild elephants.

Meanwhile the proposal to establish a protection centre for the two rare elephants in the Sinharaja forest reserve has received massive backlash from environmentalists.

The environmental organizations oppose the confinement of the two elephants, roaming in the Sinharaja forest reserve that spreads over 11,189 hectares, to an area of 50 acres with an electric fence.

They point out that the authorities should heed to implement more practical solutions to the human-elephant conflict.

Last month, the President instructed the Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and the Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation to keep the two rare elephants in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a World Heritage site, until a decision is taken after formulating a proper procedure.

He instructed that further steps should be taken after consulting a group of experts in the regard and following a scientific study by those experts, if there is any need to relocate these elephants.

Authorities had planned to translocate the two elephants to the Horowpathana elephant protection centre, however environmental conservationists had vehemently opposed the  move.

The ‘Protect Sri Lanka’ national movement had claimed that UNESCO has notified Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation that the Sinharaja Forest Reserve will be at risk of losing its status as a World Heritage Site if the two wild elephants roaming the reserve are translocated.

It also charged that if the government follows through with that decision, the public will have to suffer the dangerous consequences.

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Wild elephants destroy cultivations in Kekirawa

The residents of Kekirawa say that a herd of wild elephants roaming in Kekirawa, Horapola, and Moragollagama is destroying their cultivations.

Our correspondent said paddy fields, coconut trees, and other crops have been destroyed in those villages.

The area residents accused that authorities have erected a substandard electric fence, allowing the wild elephants to breach the fence easily.

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Wildlife Ministry to take tough action against elephant hunters

The Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife has taken measures to increase the legal punishment for the killing of tuskers.

Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said, officials of the Department of Wildlife and the Attorney General’s Department will meet day after tomorrow to discuss further on the matter.

Four tuskers were killed in the recent past.

According to a senior official of the department, one tusker at Ambanpola was gunned down yesterday.

He added that a team of doctors will be dispatched today, to treat the injured tusker.

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Another tusker shot dead at Karuwalagaswewa

Not many days after the killing of the well-known tusker, the Dala Poottuwa and the arrest of five suspects in this connection; five more suspects were arrested on charges of having shot dead another tusker in Karuwalagaswewa.

Its body was found near the Thabbowa reservoir in Karuwalagaswewa on Wednesday morning.

The Puttalam Wildlife Conservation Department Assistant Director W.M.K.S. Chandraratne said Veterinary Surgeon Chandana Jayasinghe who carried out the postmortem examination had in his report identified the elephant's death was caused by gunshot injuries to its liver and the resultant internal bleeding.

Villagers said the 18-year-old elephant with with its four-foot pair of tusks was not often seen outside the jungle area it inhabited.

The tusks were taken into custody by the wildlife department.

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Woman dies in wild elephant attack

A 22-year-old mother of one was killed in a wild elephant attack in Welikanda in Polonnaruwa.The attack had taken place this afternoon while the woman was in her garden.

Police said she was admitted to Welikanda Hospital with critical injuries and later succumbed to her injuries.

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Elephant attacks luxury bus travelled by Dambulla Acting Magistrate and his family

A wild elephant that was used to grab food from pilgrims visiting the Sithulpavva Temple in Tissamaharamaya, has taken a luxury bus occupied by Dambulla Acting Magistrate and family, into its custody.

One of the occupants of the bus had recorded the moment using his mobile phone.

They encountered this fearful moment when they were travelling towards Sithulpavva Temple, after worshiping Kataragama.

The tusker first walked towards the bus in search of food and as it was not served with food, the angry elephant has smashed the glass panel of the door and had put his trunk inside the bus.

Then he had threatened the occupants by thrusting its head on the bus.

However, the elephant has walked away only after it was offered food.

This elephant is popular as "Kappan Raaju".

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Wildlife officials catch two wild elephants in Embilipitiya

Two elephants that had destroyed cultivated lands in Kuttigala, Embilipitiya were caught by the officials of the Hambantota Wildlife Office.The two wild elephants have been roaming in the surrounding villages for a month disrupting the day-to-day work of the villagers.

The elephants will be taken to Udawalawe Reserve.

Meanwhile, an injured wild elephant is reportedly roaming in Athimale, Moneragala for the last one week.

The wildlife officials have not yet attended to the animal.

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Visiting Orphaned Baby Elephants at the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe, Sri Lanka

If it weren’t already completely and utterly obvious, I am obsessed with elephants. If you are also in love with these gentle giants, you need to visit Sri Lanka ASAP as it has one of the biggest populations of wild Asian elephants in the world. Over the years, measures to protect wildlife (and in particular, elephants) have continued to  improve in Sri Lanka, and a number of facilities have been created to ensure the survival and wellbeing of animals. One such facility is the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe, Sri Lanka. (“Udawalawe” may sound familiar to you as it is home to one of the most popular national parks in Sri Lanka.)

What is the Elephant Transit Home?


As the human population continues to grow in Sri Lanka, humans encroach on elephant natural habitat for farmland, gem mining, timber and even trafficking. Human-elephant conflict is a major threat to the survival of elephants in Sri Lanka, with many elephants being orphaned or lost: this is where Elephant Transit Home comes in. The elephant calves are taken in, nurtured and cared for back to health. The elephants are free to roam around and are never chained – Elephant Transit Home ensures that human contact is kept to a minimum in order to maximize their chance of survival when they are returned to the wild.

What sets Elephant Transit Home apart from other so-called “orphanages” is that elephants are returned to the wild so that they can re-integrate with wild herds once they turn five years old; according to the organization, more than 110 elephants have been returned back to the national parks around Sri Lanka. You can read more about the work Elephant Transit Home does here.

To read the full article, click on the story title

Residents block road after woman killed by elephant

Angry residents blocked the Hambantota Suriyawewa main road on Friday after a 68-year-old woman was killed by a wild elephant while she was sweeping the premises out side her humble home.

P. Babynona was sweeping her garden at about 5.45 a.m. when the attack took place. She died on the
spot from her injuries.

Residents who gathered at the scene blocked the Hambantota-Suriyawewa road in protest claiming
that authorities had done nothing to protect the villagers from elephant attacks.

The residents even surrounded the vehicle of the Suriyawewa Divisional Secretary (DS), who arrived
at the scene to calm the situation. The residents refused to let the vehicle leave the area.

The DS told the residents that the issue of wild elephant attacks was not some thing he could solve
alone.

The residents how ever, refused to accept this explanation and continued to block the road for several
hours.

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Reckless driving causes death of ‘Kandula’

The safari elephant ‘Kandula’ who received injuries, died this morning (11) when the truck in which it had been transported, met with an accident.

56-year-old Kandula was being transported to Pinnawela Orphanage for medical treatment at the time of the accident.

Our correspondent stated that the elephant died of his injuries while receiving treatment at Illukwatta in Kadugannawa.

The truck in which the elephant was transported met with an accident due to the driver’s reckless driving last Saturday afternoon.

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Wild elephants torment Konwewa villagers

Residents of Konwewa in Maho are living in constant fear of a herd of wild elephants that roam into
villages. They said a herd of more than 30 wild elephants have been destroying cultivated land and home garden crops for over a week.

A villager called the Wildlife Office in the presence of the media only to be told they did not have a vehicle to come.

The herd with several calves had roamed into the village last evening while the villagers remained behind closed doors. The villagers said they had reported the appearance of the herd of elephants to the Wildlife Conservation Department but there had been no response.

Meanwhile a villager called the Wildlife Office in the presence of media personnel only to be told they did not have a vehicle to come.

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Elephant in Sri Lankan Buddhist procession kills monk

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka –  An elephant that was part of a Sri Lankan Buddhist procession attacked and killed a monk, police said Monday.

Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody said three elephants were walking in the procession Sunday night when one suddenly went on a rampage and attacked the monk in the coastal town of Kochchikade, about 42 kilometers (26 miles) north of Colombo. The 25-year-old monk died at a hospital early Monday.

Colorfully decorated elephants are an important part of Buddhist religious processions and festivals. Temples and wealthy families often own the animals and rent them out for such events.
However, animal rights activists say the elephants are often kept in inhumane conditions and receive insufficient food.

Authorities say there are about 127 tamed elephants that are used for processions and other religious ceremonies by Sinhalese Buddhists, who make up 70 percent of the island’s 20 million people.
Having an elephant in the backyard has long been a sign of wealth, privilege and power. For hundreds of years, elephants have been used for such religious activities and as well as for battles by ancient kings.

Sri Lanka has about 6,000 elephants, but those in the wild are threatened by habitat loss and degradation. An estimated 200 elephants are killed every year, mainly by farmers trying to protect their crops. In the 19th century there were believed to be up to 14,000 elephants.

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One Died in Elephant Attack

A resident of Dhammitha ,Arangavila area, attacked by the wild elephant while he is returning from the farm on a motorbike, and died after admitted to the hospital with severe injuries.

The incident took place at 10.30 am yesterday (13).

The victim was identified as 63-year-old, who lives in Dhammitha area. The Arangavila police are conducting further inquiries into the incident

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4 individuals killed following an accident in Polonnaruwa- Bendiwewa

4 individuals were killed, after the motorcycle they were riding collided with a bus in Polonnaruwa- Bendiwewa,

Police media spokesperson  noted that the accident occurred around 12.45 this morning

It has been reported that the deceased were between the ages of 23 and 47.

It was further noted that the driver of the bus has been arrested in connection to the incident.

Meanwhile, 7 individuals including 2 children have been injured owing to a collision between a car and a wild elephant which was crossing the Habarana- Trincomalee main road.

Police stated that the wild elephant was killed in accident which occurred last night.

Amongst those injured were staff from Trincomalee hospital including a doctor.

They are currently receiving treatment at Dambulla base hospital.

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Wild Elephant Attack In Anuradhapura

A Wild elephant attack took place in Galkiriyagama, Anuradhapura this morning around 7.20 am. A five year old girl, Nirupama Lakshani Marasinghe was killed and her grandmother and  one-and half year old sister were injured.

This incident happened when the three victims on their way to Nirupama’s Pre School. They were admitted to Andiyagala Hospital and unfortunately Nirupama died due to worse injuries.

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Wild elephant hit by a bus in Polonnaruwa

A wild elephant has been hit by a bus near the Manampitiya bridge in Polonnaruwa.

Police stated that the wild elephant has collided with a bus plying from Dehi-aththa-kandiya to Colombo around 3.20 AM this morning.

It is reported that the wild elephant is in a critical condition and that Wildlife officers are currently treating the injured elephant.

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Cabinet approves hike in compensation for victims of elephant attacks

The Cabinet of Ministers has recently approved the increase of compensations paid for damages caused by wild elephant attacks on individuals and properties.

Accordingly, amending the amounts further, the proposal made by Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, to increase the compensation paid for human deaths and permanent disabilities from Rs. 200,000/- to Rs. 500,000/-, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

During the past 12 years, an estimated 1,464 elephants have been killed, while 672 persons have lost their lives in elephant attacks.

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Speeding truck kills elephant in Kenyan capital

A vehicle passes by a wild elephant on Colombo-Trincomalee road of Sri Lanka, April 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Gayan Sameera)

NAIROBI, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A speeding truck hit and killed an elephant along a highway in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Friday, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said.

KWS said the adult female elephant died from the accident along Nairobi-Mombasa highway in the early morning.

"KWS is saddened that in the early hours of this morning, an elephant died arising from a hit by a canter lorry at Kanga station area of the park along Mombasa-Nairobi highway," the organization said in a statement.

The statement said the three people travelling in the lorry were reported to have sustained minor injuries while the lorry heading for the port city of Mombasa had some damage.
The carcass of the animal has been removed from the road and the tusks have been recovered by the KWS for safe custody.

Police and the KWS have launched investigations into the incident.

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