Elephant deaths climb to 66 so far, this year

Children and wildlife officers inspecting a she elephant killed by an improvised explosive device, called hakkapatas, at Herathgama, in Kurunegala, on Monday.

by Ifham Nizam

Elephant deaths, so far this year, had shot up to 66, on Monday, when a she elephant succumbed to her injuries received from an improvised explosive device, commonly known as hakkapatas, Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) said yesterday.

Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle of Sri Lanka Convener Supun Lahiru Prakash said the human-elephant conflict (HEC) had shown a rapid escalation recently.

“From 2016 to 2020 we have lost at least 1,578 elephants and the majority of them have died due to anthropogenic reasons. When compared with the 1992 – 2001 period, the present annual death rate of elephants shows about 90% rise and it is a 30% increase when compared with the 2005–2010 period. It is the highest annual death rate of elephants in the world.”

A sharp decrease in the elephant home ranges and repeating the failed mitigation measures were among the factors that have led to increased HEC in the county, according to experts.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a multi-stakeholder committee chaired by eminent elephant researcher Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando to prepare “National Action Plan for the Mitigation of Human-Elephant Conflict”, which was prepared and handed over to the government last December.