News
Humans have gunned down 84 elephants, so far this year
View(s):By Reka Tharagani Fonseka
The number of elephant deaths remains as high as last year, and 166 human deaths have occurred due to the human-elephant conflict by the end of November, a senior official of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) said. Of the 440 elephant deaths reported so far, one more than last year, 84 have been killed by shooting.
Human lives lost due to the human-elephant conflict have risen from last year’s 146.
Statistics show most elephant deaths, or 94, this year have occurred within Polonnaruwa. The Eastern province and Anuradhapura recorded 85 and 81 elephant deaths, respectively.
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- Chandana Sooriyabandara
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- In addition to shooting, hakka patas and electrocution, 57 elephants have been killed in train collisions
In addition to the 84 being killed by shooting, 43 have died from ingesting Hakka Patas (an explosive used to kill wild boars), while 57 died due to electrocution. Apart from that, 57 elephants have been killed in train collisions.
The department’s Director General, Chandana Sooriyabandara, told the Sunday Times that the human-elephant conflict cannot be solved by the department alone, and other stakeholders should help find a sustainable solution.
Most of the forested land and adjoining wildlife parks and reserves belong to other state departments, and managing those lands in a sustainable manner would help to resolve the human elephant issue, he said.
These institutes should give priority to resolving the human elephant conflict and discourage cultivation within the reserves, he said.
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