“If we had more opportunity to treat the elephant and visit frequently, there was a chance of saving his life. But Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis, the worst in the country’s history, meant that was not to be. Before this year, Maheshakya would have received many more visits, possibly preventing the loss of his tusk and subsequent death. In the time since Maheshakya had suffered his injuries during the fight, veterinarians from the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) were able to check on him just twice.
As he lay in pain, still alive and conscious, a poacher cut off one of his tusks. Earlier this year, he got into a fight with another elephant, which left Maheshakya seriously wounded. The threat of forest fires also looms as the dry season gets underway, which typically calls for more patrols to prevent burning by poachers and forest encroachers.ĬOLOMBO - Anyone who’d ever seen Maheshakya in the wildernesses of Kebithigollewa in Sri Lanka’s North Central province agreed that, as elephants went, he was an exemplary specimen with large tusks.Fuel allocations for the wildlife conservation department have been halved, and both wildlife and forest officials say this has made operations extremely difficult.
The shortages and limited rations are affecting conservation efforts, including the timely treatment of wild animals, regular patrolling to thwart poaching, and mitigation actions to limit human-elephant conflict.Sri Lanka continues to face the brunt of the worst economic crisis in the country’s history, with depleted foreign reserves resulting in acute fuel shortages nationwide.
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