Heart-breaking footage shows baby elephant trying to wake up dead mum after suspected poisoning in Sri Lanka
- 5 years ago
This is the tragic moment when a baby elephant tries to wake up its mother who was suspected to have been poisoned by angry villagers in Sri Lanka.
As many as seven other elephants were believed to have been killed for raiding local farms in central Sri Lanka, according to authorities as well as wildlife activists.
The carcasses of four animals were found at a forest near Sigiriya, a UNESCO-protected heritage site, on September 27, while three more were discovered on September 28.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera stated to media: “We have found the remains of seven cow elephants, including a tusker, since Friday.“
According to the forest department officials, a pregnant female and a male were among the four carcasses found on Friday.
Wildlife experts and vets are set to carry out autopsies to ascertain if the animals were poisoned, a theory gaining currency among wildlife activists since the news broke first on Friday.
According to police, a spate of incidents involving wild elephants storming villages and destroying crops in the area might have triggered the killing.
At present, Sri Lanka has has an elephant population of nearly 5,500.
Experts consider the loss of seven elephants this week a serious blow to the country’s elephant population. All seven animals found dead were said to have been 10 to 15 years old.
Jayantha Jayawardena, managing trustee of the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust told The Hindu: “Elephants generally walk about 12 miles a night to find food on the way.
Now, when they find paths blocked by these houses, they break in and then stumble upon crops. It is like a buffet for them,”
Mr. Jayawardena, who has been studying Asian elephants for 40 years, added: “No villager would like to see an elephant killed, but when the animal damages their crops, they are affected badly. They lose their entire income, what can they do?
“The government has to engage with the villagers, and relocate them in areas that are better, and provide them suitable housing and livelihoods. Otherwise this human-elephant conflict will just carry on.”
As many as seven other elephants were believed to have been killed for raiding local farms in central Sri Lanka, according to authorities as well as wildlife activists.
The carcasses of four animals were found at a forest near Sigiriya, a UNESCO-protected heritage site, on September 27, while three more were discovered on September 28.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera stated to media: “We have found the remains of seven cow elephants, including a tusker, since Friday.“
According to the forest department officials, a pregnant female and a male were among the four carcasses found on Friday.
Wildlife experts and vets are set to carry out autopsies to ascertain if the animals were poisoned, a theory gaining currency among wildlife activists since the news broke first on Friday.
According to police, a spate of incidents involving wild elephants storming villages and destroying crops in the area might have triggered the killing.
At present, Sri Lanka has has an elephant population of nearly 5,500.
Experts consider the loss of seven elephants this week a serious blow to the country’s elephant population. All seven animals found dead were said to have been 10 to 15 years old.
Jayantha Jayawardena, managing trustee of the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust told The Hindu: “Elephants generally walk about 12 miles a night to find food on the way.
Now, when they find paths blocked by these houses, they break in and then stumble upon crops. It is like a buffet for them,”
Mr. Jayawardena, who has been studying Asian elephants for 40 years, added: “No villager would like to see an elephant killed, but when the animal damages their crops, they are affected badly. They lose their entire income, what can they do?
“The government has to engage with the villagers, and relocate them in areas that are better, and provide them suitable housing and livelihoods. Otherwise this human-elephant conflict will just carry on.”