Humans invading elephant habitats: Vedda chief warns
Colombo, August 4 (Daily Mirror) – Vedda Chief Uru Warige Wannila Aththo says the real issue today is not an elephant-human conflict, but a human-elephant conflict.
Speaking to the media after offering bee honey to the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy, Wannila Aththo said elephants are being driven out of their natural habitats as people increasingly settle in forest areas.
“Animals once lived freely in the forests. Now, people are invading their lands. Elephants have nowhere to go and are forced to enter human settlements,” he said.
He expressed concern over how communities respond to these encounters resorting to shooting elephants, setting up electric fences, or using deadly explosives such as ‘Hakka Patas’ to kill them.
“Elephants in the wild are a major attraction for tourists and bring valuable foreign exchange to the country. Killing them is a great national loss,” he added.
Wannila Aththo urged the government to implement stronger measures to prevent the killing of elephants and protect Sri Lanka’s wildlife.
