News
Dying elephant’s tusks cut off; culprits sought
View(s):Wildlife officers’ negligence reason for tusker’s death: Villagers
By Kasun Warakapitiya
The Police have also used the help of Police intelligence to find the culprits, a senior official of the Kebithigollewa Police said. He also said they have already gained some information on the culprits.
After being notified about some people cutting a tusk off a mortally wounded elephant, the Police officers from Kebithigollewa Police station had visited the Thithagonawa area on Tuesday. They had found a piece of the handle from the wooden axe used by the culprits, when they reached the elephant, the official said.
Meanwhile Dr Chandana Jayasinghe, the wildlife veterinary surgeon who treated and carried out the post mortem, said the tusker had been grievously injured after a fight with another tusker around one and half months ago. He said the dead tusker, who was identified as Maheshakaya, had two deep wounds in its chest and back areas.
“We actually found the elephant one and a half months ago when it was wounded previously. It had collapsed near a tank in Kebithigollewa. We used a backhoe to help the tusker get on its feet and treated it for three to four days. After that we released it to the forest,” he said.
Dr Jayasinghe also said they had difficulties to carry out follow up treatment for some time due to the fuel shortage. When they detected the tusker again its condition was worse.
“The elephant collapsed during the past few days. We treated it and wildlife officers from Medawachchiya stayed in the area to feed the animal,” he added.
Dr Jayasinghe said the elephant’s tusk was cut off with an axe while it was unconscious.
“Elephants’ modified incisor teeth are tusks. Cutting one off will be painful, as these tusks have deep nerve roots reaching near their eyes. Therefore, the elephant might have been in a great deal of pain,” he said.
The tusker’s death had been due to septicemia — blood poisoning through bacteria — caused by the deep wounds in its body. It was also revealed that the elephant’s heart and lungs were damaged and were affected by the festering wounds.
The villagers complained that the elephant was subjected to inhuman treatment due to the negligence of the wildlife department. The wildlife officers from the Medawachchiya office were unavailable for comment.
Wildlife Conservation Department Director General Chandana Suriyabandara said he had called for a report on the incident, and would comment after the report was received. He said two groups of wildlife officials were assigned to investigate the incident and submit a report within the upcoming week.
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