(COLOMBO) – At least 470 wild elephants including 200 tuskers died during the whole of last year in Sri Lanka and the authorities have blamed it on human activities.
The death toll of wild elephants has increased sharply, much to the anxiety of the wildlife conservators, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Department (Protected Area Management) Manjula Amararathe said.
He said 83 wild elephants had been shot dead, 47 killed by explosive devices set up by farmers and villagers, 66 by electric traps and another four by poisoning.
He added that 70 wild elephants had died of illnesses, natural causes and accidents that included 23 that had been hit by trains.
He said on September 27 last year 11 wild elephants were killed by trains and shot dead by farmers which is the single largest number of deaths on a single day.
There is an estimated seven to 10,000 elephants living in the wilds of Sri Lanka and this had led to a festering human-animal conflict with the death toll ticking on both sides.
The elephants are forced to enter lush green farm lands in search of fodder since much of their natural habitat has been encroached by human settlements and as a result there are sad fatalities on both sides, one wild life enthusiast said.
Apart from the wild elephant deaths some 173 people have also been killed in elephant attacks during the whole of 2023.
