- Ballistic evidence shows that a specific firearm was used
- AI sensor-based detection system developed
Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabendi has called for a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into a spate of suspicious elephant deaths caused by gunshots, saying that the killings may be part of a deliberate attempt by a group to discredit the Government, Deputy Environment Minister Anton Jayakody said yesterday.
He said this in response to our query about the recent surge in the number of elephant deaths.
The Deputy Minister said that there was a marked increase in the number of fatalities this year, with 198 elephant deaths recorded in the first six months of this year.
The causes, he said, included train collisions, various other accidents, and shootings.
At least three wild elephants were found dead in different parts of the country on Friday, a day after six young rescued elephants were released back into the Udawalawe National Park under the Wildlife Conservation Department’s wild-elephant conservation program. A wild-elephant had died in a train accident at Gallella, the same area where seven elephants had been knocked down by a locomotive in February. Minister Jayakody said that at least 20 wild elephant deaths this year had been linked to gunshot wounds that do not appear to be the result of typical retaliatory attacks by farmers defending their crops. “There is growing concern that these killings are not random, but targeted and possibly orchestrated for political ends,” said Deputy Minister Jayakody.
Investigators said there is a pattern in the shootings, with ballistic evidence indicating that a specific firearm had been used in multiple cases. The shots were reportedly fired at the legs of the elephants, showing intent to maim rather than immediately kill — a tactic that prolongs suffering and increases visibility of the carcasses.
Deputy Minister Jayakody said that similar incidents were recorded previously, at the time the Environment Ministry was preparing its Budget proposals. This has raised suspicions that the shootings may have been timed to embarrass the ministry or undermine its conservation efforts.
He also said they had changed the train time tables, and cleared up vegetation on both sides of the rail tracks to minimise the number of elephant train collisions and to create safe crossing paths to elephants. Hundreds of railway personnel—train drivers, station masters, engineers, assistants—undergo training programs on elephant risks and safe driving protocols, he said.
He said the Environment Ministry is piloting an Artificial Intelligence (AI) sensor-based detection system developed by the University of Peradeniya, which can alert train drivers up to 500 metres before an elephant gets on the track.
The human-elephant conflict in the country has resulted in the deaths of nearly 200 elephants and 55 people this year. Official figures from Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department show that 4,835 elephants and 1,601 people had died in the worsening conflict since 2010.
