Saturday 8th July, 2023

Sri Lanka makes international headlines always for the wrong reasons, especially where its fauna and flora are concerned. A few weeks ago, it created a media frenzy by unveiling a plan to send its troublesome monkeys to China to prevent crop damage here. It has abandoned its monkey-export plan due to bad press and said it should not be asked to save cultivations from monkey invasions hereafter! In other words, shipping monkeys to China is the only solution it can think of.

Sri Lanka is in the news again internationally, having failed to look after a gift elephant, whose suffering has received global media attention. Muthu Raja, a Thai elephant, which was gifted to Sri Lanka, about two decades ago and taken back to Thailand recently for treatment for long-neglected health conditions, has become a social media sensation. Animal rights activists, the world over, have evinced a keen interest in its wellbeing.

Muthu Raja has become world-famous, but its predicament has tarnished Sri Lanka’s image irreparably. One can only hope that the much-publicised allegation that the poor jumbo suffered mistreatment at the hands of its custodians and handlers here will be investigated and legal action taken if it is found to be true.

A senior university don has said nobody ever requested the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Peradeniya, or any registered veterinarian, for that matter, to treat Muthu Raja. The chief incumbent of the temple where the ailing jumbo was kept should be made to explain his alleged failure to do so.

Animal rights groups in Thailand are reportedly mounting pressure on their government to ensure that all Thai elephants gifted to Sri Lanka are brought back home. Their demand has created quite a stir in this country though the Thai authorities have not responded to it. Whether one agrees with the Thai elephant lovers on this score or not, their concerns should be appreciated, given the plight of elephants here.

Nary a day passes in Sri Lanka without the tragic death of a wild elephant being reported, Nayanaka Ranwella, an environmentalist, has told the media. Mongabay, a non-profit conservation and environment science news platform, has reported, citing the Department of Wildlife Conservation, that 151 elephants died between 01 Jan. and 28 April 2023 in this country; of these, at least 67 deaths were due to human intervention, including shooting and electrocution. Besides, a large number of elephants die in collision with moving trains. Last year, about 433 elephants were killed, and the majority of those killings were due to the human-elephant conflict; about 147 human lives were lost in wild elephant attacks.

At this rate, Sri Lankan elephants might be extinct in a few decades. One need not be surprised if the Thai elephant lovers succeed in having their precious jumbos currently being kept here returned like Muthu Raja, and Sri Lanka comes under international pressure to send all its jumbos to other countries that can ensure their safety.