On 8th February 2001, in a place called Karambewa Siyambalawa in Anamaduwa, an elephant died in an attempt by a team of wildlife officers to tranquilize it. It was the first step in an attempt by them to capture and re-locate a herd of elephants reportedly terrorizing several villages in the area. On being darted with the tranquilizer drug, the elephant is said to have run some distance and fallen and on examination, was found to be dead. The team was led by Veterinarian Vijitha Perera who has had no previous experience of tranquilizing an elephant in the wild, for translocation. According to information, in this instance, he has not darted the animal himself but had got another member of his team to do it.

We are surprised at the gross lack of concern on the part of the Director DWLC in assigning the transquilization and re-location of these elephants to an inexperienced veterinarian and failing to have even a consultant veterinarion to oversee his efforts. We are particularly surprised because it is only just around three months since an elephant in the Madampe area died on being darted with the tranquilizer drug by another veterinarian of the department. In this instance too, the Director assigned the task of tranquilizing and translocation of a group of three elephants to a veterinarian with limited experience. while a highly experienced and skilled veterinarian with an excellent record of successful tanquilization and translocation of elephants was available but was kept idling in office.

Inspite of the fact that the death of this elephant became a highly controversial issue, an independent inquiry was not held. At the Director’s request, the post mortem was held by a senior lecturer of the Veterinary Faculty, University of Peradeniya. The same lecturer conducted the post mortem of the elephant that died recently in the Anamaduwa area, too. Perhaps the Director thinks he has safeguarded his position by getting the faculty veterinarians to conduct post mortems of elephants that die under the hands of inexperienced veterianarians.

The Director must hold himself responsible for the deaths of several elephants due to injuries in the last three months, because it has been evident that he has failed to provide effective veterinary assistance to injured elephants in the wild, despite appeals by people, and even by the wildlife officials of these areas. He has also failed to take action to capture and relocate dangerous elephants in areas of human/elephants conflict despite appeals by local authorities and the police. The reason given by the Director for this inaction on his part is that the department does not have money for drugs, fuel etc. However, he has concented to capture elephants in areas where the local authorities have provided him with funds for the capture and relocating elephants. Is it correct for the DWLC which is the authority for wildlife conservation of this country to carry out its duties on such a basis?

The Director DWLC has been reported as saying that the capturing of elephants will be temporarily stopped in view of the elephant deaths that have occurred in the past year in attempts to capture elephants and until he inquires into the causes of those deaths. He has stated the number of deaths in the past year as three, in Matale, Madampe and Kotavehera areas. With regard to the cause of death of the elephant in the Matale area, we are surprised he should want to waste time inquiring into it again, because the Director himself publicly stated the cause of death as an injury in the trunk of the elephant by a bullet blocking the nasal passage, and that he was satisfied it was an unfortunate yet unavoidable death.

The other two elephant deaths are the deaths referred to above by us. It is indeed odd that the Director should now want to inquire into the elephant death in the Madampe area when at that time, he firmly stated there was no need for an independent inquiry because a full inquiry had already been held, that included the evidence and of the Divisional Secretary and all other relevant authorities. If indeed the Director was honestly concerned about elephant deaths in attempts at capturing them by the department, then at least, on the death of the elephant in the Kotavehera area which occured only just three months following the last one, he should have initiated a full inquiry, in the place where the death occurred, getting the evidence and observations of villagers, journalists and any others who were witnesses or who had observations to make.

It is indeed a shame that the Director should try to hide the inadequacies of the veterinary service of the department and in doing so, has betrayed the cause of elephants that are mercilessly under siege and are solely his responsibility to protect. To take a decision to indefinitely stop the capture and translocation of elephants at a time when the elephants are most critically under threat is to simply allow them to fall a prey to their assailants. Moreover, it is to do nothing to protect humans whose lives are threatened when elephants invade villages and cultivations.

The Director has shown he is incapable of protecting elephants and wildlife and should resign his position without misleading higher authorities in charge of wildlife protection and conservation into taking decisions that will only have disastrous effects on both elephants and humans in the ongoing human/elephant conflict. Not only should the Director resign his post, it is also necessary that the President should cause an inquiry to be held into the conduct of the Director for his failure to give adequate protection and veterinary support to our besieged elephants of the wild.

Sagarica Rajakarunanayake
President
Sathva Mithra