Another tusker found dead in Kudavewa due to poaching:

Number of elephants dwindle

By Dhaneshi YATAWARA

Another tusker bids adieu with a tragic end to its tusks. The 50-year-old partially blind tusker which roamed the Kebithigollewa , Horowpothana area is no more; leaving a vacuum in the elephant colony.On November 12, Wildlife officials received a tip off from a villager about a dead tusker lying on the ground in Kudavewa. Poachers had removed nearly three and a half feet of its tusks. The tusks were 4.5 feet in length. The tusker was around eight feet tall.

This tusker, living mostly in the wild was known to be a harmless animal which never attacked villages. It was also seen on the banks of Mahakanadarawa wewa during the drought in the dry zone.

According to the Department of Wildlife Conservation, an investigation is being carried out jointly with the Kebithigollewa police by the Wildlife officers. The suspicion is on those who own shot guns that were given to protect crops. Around ten such people are recorded to be living in the vicinity. The Department of Wildlife Conservation is ready to give Rs. 200,000 for any information about the killing.

The dead tusker was seen mostly in the Medawachchiya, Isinbessagala area during most times of the year, basically in the Kebithigollewa, Horowpothana border. In the dry season it used to visit the Mahakanadarawa tank looking for water and food. According to Dr. Chandana Jayasinghe, the veterinary surgeon for the Northwestern region the tusker was attacked by another elephant during his last visit to the Mahakanadarawa tank - that happened around three months ago. "Its condition became very critical with its wounds to his trunk and the broken tail. We treated him immediately and he was recovering.

It had to be treated for nearly one month and was unable to eat or drink initially and was slowly progressing," he said.

On November 12 the Vavuniya Wildlife office received the information on the death of the elephant and the postmortem was carried out on November 13.

According to the observation by Dr. Chandana Jayasinghe, the tusker had been killed about ten days ago. The Animal had been shot in the heart. The body was found in the Kudawewa village in Etambgaskada - that can be reached turning from Ethakada on the Kebithigollewa - Horowpothana road.

Tusks were taken not entirely extracted but external part taken

possibly using a hacksaw blade. "The poachers have immediately removed the tusks as soon as they shot the animal," Dr. Jayasinghe explained.

According to the postmortem the animal had been killed during or after it had its food - its stomach was full. "The intestines had dung and the stomach had a good amount of food in it showing that it had a hearty meal when it was shot," he explained.

The animal had not been weak at the time of its death.

The spot where the animal died does not show much disturbance due to its harsh movements with the pain of the gun shot. "It shows that the animal might have died soon after it was shot," Jayasinghe added.

This animal is quite old and we believe it should be little beyond 50 years of age. One eye was blind and the other one partially. But he showed no difficulty in roaming in his area, finding food and water.

Though wildlife officials do not know exactly what made the tusker blind as Dr. Chandana Jayasinghe explained many elephants go blind due to injuries such as gun shots. "The other problem that tuskers face is that pieces of wood and thorny branches cause damage to the eye when entangled with the tusks," he explained. The jungles in the dry zone are having a very disturbing undergrowth and when it is of thorny shrubs the difficulty to tuskers is more," he said.

The spot where the tusker was found dead has been approximately 100 metres from the access road and according to wildlife officers there is a metal crusher in close proximity. "Though people living around said they were not aware of the death of the animal, we find it hard to believe because the smell of an elephant carcass can be sensed nearly a kilometre from the spot. There might be people who might have known that this tusker got shot," he said.

"When the animal gets a bullet in the heart the animal experience sudden death as the bullet damages the lungs and surrounding vital organs," he said.

Though the Wildlife Conservation Department has not observed killing of tuskers to retrieve tusks, Jayasinghe said that in the Northwestern wildlife region there are a number of tuskers that have gone missing.

"For example the tusker at Ulukkulama, another large tusker that was roaming in Galgamuwa area are some of them. Villagers say that some tuskers were seen dead but we never found the carcas or bones. No one knows what happened to them," Jayasinghe said.

"Tuskers or animals cannot go missing as they do not leave their territory. They are normally seen once in few days in its particular area. Even for a period of the year. If they go missing then obviously they are facing danger," he explained.

At the time we read the article two other tuskers are suffering from life threatening trap gun shots - one in Balalu wewa forest area (adjoining Kala wewa) in the Anuradhapura district and the other in "Trap gun shots not only injure the flesh, but it fractures the bone," said Dr. Jayasinghe. "The tusker in the Balalu wewa area, which is around 15 years old, moves dragging its injured rear leg," said Dr. Jayasinghe. "We shoot antibiotics to the animal from a distance. Since its weak we cannot tranquilise it. The animal is within its herd and when we go to treat, the rest of the herd tries to attack. And sometimes when the animal is inside a shrub jungle it is difficult to shoot the medicine too," he added.

This tragic situation is in the Northwestern part of the island and there could be more instances in the entire country. Tuskers are the gems studded in to the Sri Lankan wild fauna and flora. Their rare nature makes them unique among the elephants - the flagship species of Sri Lanka.

Most of the Elephants die due to the human-elephant conflict. By end October this year 206 elephant deaths were reported, a minor part of it being deaths due to natural causes. But in 2011 by end October reports indicate that 218 elephants have died. And most of the deaths caused by Human - Elephant conflict were reported from North Western wildlife region.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation has launched large scale projects for elephant conservation in Sri Lanka.

Establishing two elephant holding grounds and a new conservation centre for orphaned elephant calves and juveniles will be the main focus. "Accelerating the ongoing program at Horowpothana and initiating a new project in Lunugamvehera will be the two projects related to establishing elephant holding grounds at a cost of Rs. 850 million," said H.D. Ratnayake, Director General of the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Another conservation centre will be set up in Ritigala as a shelter for orphaned elephants. The elephant holding grounds will serve as conservation centres where elephants facing a conflict situation with humans will be sheltered. "Some elephants get injured and some become blind, like the Galgamuwa tusker, as a result of conflict situations.

Taking care of them by Wildlife officials will be much efficient in such centres," Ratnayake said.

According to Ratnayake, the Horowpothana elephant conservation site can accommodate 50 elephants while the Lunugamvehera site will be able to shelter 30 elephants. "The number of elephants at each site will only be increased over time and when there is a need for additional food, we have already drawn plans to provide them with extra food. For this, we will be purchasing vegetables, fruits and grains that elephants like such as pumpkin and corn from the local farmers," Ratnayake said.

"The electric fence at Lunugamvehera is 34 kilometres and in

Horowpothana it is 18 kilometres. The Department will set up the fence based on a new method with three barriers," he said. There will be two electric fences and another fence in between with two ropes fixed in high tension. "Even when there is no electricity on the fences, the elephants will not be able to escape the boundary," he added.

According to Ratnayake, the Lunugamvehera site has three large tanks including the Lunugamvehera tank and several small tanks will be renovated when establishing the site.

The Ritigala site will care for orphaned elephants similar to the Eth Athuru Sevana in Uda Walawa, Ratnayake said. The site extends over 1,100 hectares which holds around five water tanks.

"The availability of water and food throughout the year for elephants as well as their protection were considered when selecting these sites," Ratnayake said.