Animal fossils thousands of years old found in Yala

They are parts of skeletons of elephants, tortoises, wild buffaloes, spotted deer, wild boar and other animals, say students of the Kelaniya University Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology who are studying the fossils.

The level of fossilisation indicates the animal bones are 1,000 to 5,000 years old, palaeobiodiversity expert Kelum Manamendra-arachchie said.

“Some of these bones could be older,” he added. With time, the organic materials inside bones are replaced by mineral substances and experts can estimate their age by observing the extent of this fossilisation process.

Fossilisation only happens in rare cases. Animal carcasses are usually eaten or bacteria can rots them away before fossilisation can occur.

Fossils are found when animals die in location where their carcasses – or parts of it – are protected from scavengers and the elements, such as when they are found on the seabed or a river bed and become buried in sand, soil or mud. Rock pools with beds of clayey mud are ideal, Mr. Manamendra-arachchie pointed out.

(Ther Thanamalwila rock pool)

The bones were found during efforts to find water sources for thirsty animals. Due to the drought, many of the Yala National Park’s waterholes have run dry. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) sent a crew with a backhoe to deepen a rock pool known as Wel-mal-kema in Yala Block I.

These rockpools are the lifeline of wild animals during droughts as many of them have water when other water sources run dry. It is believed animals became trapped in the mud of this rock pool when they came there for drinking water thousands of years ago.

Through analysis of the bones, Mr. Manamendra-arachchie is able to surmise that wild buffaloes were plentiful thousands of years ago in Yala. The national park has a population of wild buffaloes but these are mixed with domesticated buffaloes. Mr. Manamendra-arachchie says the base of the hobes are thicker in wild buffaloes and there were many such skulls among the excavated bones.

This Wel-mal-kema is 30 feet long and believed to be 30 ft deep. Only half of it has been excavated and it is possible that there could be much older fossils.

Yala has a number of such rock pools, so there could be many mysteries waiting to be unearthed. The Director-General of the DWC and the Minister for Wildlife has requested the Institute of Archaeology to continue with this study in Yala.

Mr. Manamendra-arachchie said he analysed a similar, but smaller rock pool in 2005 in Thanamalwila from which he collected four truckloads of bones that, he believes clearly accounted for more than 100 elephants, 150 wild buffaloes, 200 spotted deer, 150 wild boar and 50 sambhur deer. Most of them had almost become fossilised.

Source : October 2016-Sundaytimes ; http://www.sundaytimes.lk/161002/news/animal-fossils-thousands-of-years-old-found-in-yala-211131.html

Toyota’s environmental initiatives save 67mn tons of CO2 released to atmosphere

Source : 07-10-2016 Daily Mirror

Will they be avian deathtraps?

In July this year the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUSL) created serious concern among the public when it was announced that Sri Lanka is now moving towards a major power crisis if appropriate action is not taken by 2018. The PUSL warning the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) had said that under drought conditions and even with planned plant additions, Sri Lanka is set to face energy capacity shortages in 2018 and beyond. ¨Due to drought conditions, the planned plant additions too may be inadequate and new options should be perused,¨ the PUSL had said.

The looming power crisis has increased the urgency for the CEB to find other sources of energy but reliability and environmental concerns plague their choices at hand; whether it be wind power, liquefied natural gas (LNG) or solar power.

Today, non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE)amounts to only 9.9 percent of Sri Lanka’s total power generation, according to the Central Bank and the government in its energy policy has set a target to generate 20 per cent of the country’s power needs through NCRE sources by 2020.

With the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) identifying the potential generation of wind power approximately 375 MW in the Mannar region, yet another wind farm has been commissioned to be built in Mannar with the Department of Coast Conservation recently giving the go-ahead and clearing the project of any potential negative environmental impact.

Despite requiring significant investment, wind power is, perhaps, one of the cleanest forms of energy produced, not requiring the burning of fossil fuels, and is renewable due to constant availability making it an ideal renewable energy option for Sri Lanka. According to the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change compared with other low carbon sources, wind turbines have the lowest global warming potential per unit of electricity generated.

However, despite the form of energy generation being environmentally friendly, environmentalists in the country have now raised grave concerns regarding the proposed Mannar wind farm due to its location and its effect on the migrant bird population arriving in the island.

Location

The adverse connection between wind farms and birds is a common problem and perhaps the main criticism faced by wind farms the world over with large spinning turbines being called bird deathtraps, as they cut through the flying space of birds, turning at over 300 kilometres per hour resulting in a large number of bird deaths annually. While the actual numbers are a point of contention, it is believed bird mortality at wind energy facilities can vary, depending on the location, construction, and height, with some facilities reporting zero bird fatalities, and others as high as 9.33 birds per turbine per year according to one research report.

The location chosen by the CEB for the wind power plant lies on the southern shore of Mannar island between the Adam´s Bridge Marine National Park and the Vankalai Sanctuary, a declared International Ramsar Wetland. According to leading environmentalists, and the Ceylon Birds Club, Mannar Island is an internationally recognised Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), consisting of wetlands and nature reserves, home to over 190 species of birds, and therefore, constructing such a wind farm could contribute to a large number of avoidable avian fatalities.

According to the Ceylon Birds’ Club Joint Secretary Kithsiri Gunawardene the main issue is with the locality of the wind farm he says, adding that research and historical records of the club has proved this area is in fact where migratory birds first land during their long and arduous journey to escape the harsh winter of their home countries, from September to April.

Senior Lecturer of the Wayamba University Dr. Sevvandi Jayakody confirms this. ¨The proposed wind farm is obstructing a well known route taken by migratory birds,¨ she said.

According to experts, yearly, migratory birds take two main routes to the country, one being the route from Rameshwaram, India over the cluster of islands known as Adam’s Bridge to reach the Vankalai bird sanctuary in Mannar. This, according to environmentalists, has, therefore, contributed to the increase of bird population, with birds from countries such as Russia, Belarus, China and Mongolia using the route to migrate. While over one million birds enter the island through this route annually, environmentalists claim the proposed wind farm will be hazardous and claim many fatalities, if built on the proposed site.

Gunawardene says, Mannar is a sensitive and important site for seabirds such as, the Crab Plover, Flamingos, Bridled Tern and the Roseate Tern. Ornithologists say, many migratory birds to Urumalai in Mannar landfall during night time before going on to Vankalai. According to Gunawardene, Sri Lanka being the last point of travel for many migratory birds, the construction of such a farm, while obstructing the path of birds who are fatigued, having travelled thousands of kilometres to reach Sri Lanka, will cause disastrous consequences. “The proposed wind farm is along this landfall area,” he says.

Initial report

Environmentalists have also expressed their displeasure at the Initial Environment Examination (IEE) by a team led by Professor in Zoology Devaka Weerakoon, University of Colombo. According to Sajeewa Chamikara of the Environment Conservation Trust, the report is inadequate to understand the environmental situation in the area. “Much data is lacking from the report. All areas of concern have not been looked into,” he said.

“The birds landfall during the night and do this over several months of the year,” says Gunawardene. “The truth should not be suppressed as it can have unpleasant consequences. When the farm is built, it will not be commercially viable to dismantle it if found to adversely affect the animals,” he says.

According to Dr. Sevvandi Jayakody the issue also brings into perspective the scientific methodology and processes used in creating reports needed to give clearance to various projects. ¨Repeatedly we see that such erroneous reports are the main cause for serious environmental issues in the country” she said.

Legal Aspect

¨The IEE claims, 18 hours was spent at each of the six assigned vantage points to collect data,¨ she says questioning if this time is adequate to collect data despite the report taking over two years to be completed. While the report then claims that bird population during migration and other times remains the same, Dr. Jayakody says she is confused as to how this conclusion was arrived at when only a short time was spent at each point to collect the needed data. ¨The data collected by the Ceylon Bird Club proves otherwise and shows a large increase of birds in the area during migration periods,¨ she said.

Earlier, CEB Chairman Anura Wijepala assured that proper procedure will be adhered to during the project. “We chose Mannar as it is one of the best spots for wind power generation,” he said adding that Mannar along with several other sites have been chosen for proposed wind farms due to their suitability in a move to increase non-conventional renewable energy generation methods in the country.

“The EIA has not been concluded. Once it is done, we will submit it to the public for their opinions and concerns,” he said in June this year.

“The CEB has no mandate to work against the law” Wijepala said adding that the CEB will at all times comply with the environmental laws of Sri Lanka.

However according to environmentalists despite assuring an EIA, the Coast Conservation Department has now approved the project based on the IEE done.

According to Environmentalist and Lawyer Jagath Gunawardena, rightfully such approval should be granted by the Department of Wildlife protection under the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance if any development project is being constructed within a mile’s radius from a national park, and in this instance the Adamś Bridge marine National Park. ¨However despite this the Coast Conservation Department was named as the approving authority¨ he said adding that this created loopholes to get the project approved

Legally the Coast Conservation Department can approve a project after calling for an IEE or an Environment Impact Assessment EIA (EIA) under the Coast Conservation Act under the Coast Conservation Act. However, unlike under the Flora and Fauna Ordinance legally the Coast Conservation Act does not require the approving authority to seek public opinion on the matter allowing the project to be approved sans any opposition. According to Gunawardene as required the report has not been submitted to review by the Coast Conservation Advisory Board, a serious lapse on the part of the department.

Alternatives

While reiterating that they are in support of renewable energy projects, Gunawardene says their request is that the wind farm should be constructed in an area between Silawathurai and Arippu. “There is ample wind and no harm to the migratory patterns of birds in these areas,” he says adding that it would be the ideal win-win situation.

“Birds protect the equilibrium of the environment by keeping insects that multiply fast in control,” Gunawardene says adding that they are the cleansers of the environment.

Source : Sunday Observer http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2016/09/25/fea03.asp

Co-habitation between man and elephant the only answer to solve HEC

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi

Conservation expert Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando says it is not the sole responsibility of DWC officers, appropriate stakeholders including the affected villagers have to play a role

(Affected villagers demand redress to the issue)

Co-existence is the one and only answer to the human-elephant conflict (HEC) and weaving this into the development plans of areas in the grip of HEC is the need of the hour.

This is the firm belief of the Chairman of the Centre for Conservation and Research (CCR), Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando who has been conducting research on elephants for over 25 years.

The mitigation of the HEC is not the duty of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) alone, he tells the Sunday Times when we catch up with him in Galgamuwa.

Citing Wayamaba (North Western Province) as a ‘classic’ example, Dr. Fernando points out that there are a couple of million people, houses and home gardens, about 200,000 acres of paddy and around 2,000 elephants in an area of about 750,000 hectares. Everybody expects about 50 DWC officers in Wayamba to prevent the HEC. These officers are stretched and strained to their limits trying to “conserve people and their property” rather than doing their job of safeguarding and conserving wildlife including elephants.

“The HEC has to be handled by the appropriate stakeholders, with the people who suffer due to the HEC taking the primary measures to address the problem. A major role in mitigating the HEC has to be played by officials and agencies whose responsibility is the ‘people’s welfare’. They would include administrative officials such as the District Secretary, the Divisional Secretaries and their teams including the Grama Niladharis; the development agencies such as Mahaweli, Agriculture and Irrigation Departments; and also the Disaster Management authorities, as the HEC is a man-made disaster. Conservation agencies can and should only play a secondary role,” he says.

Dr. Fernando laments that unplanned development, which is encroaching more and more into the homes of wild elephants, is creating a crisis in the area. There are large-scale encroachments by influential Colombo people and companies who are acquiring land in the area and cultivating large extents. This takes away the limited elephant habitat and obstructs elephant movements. Consequently, there is confrontation and conflict. The moment someone gets killed there are protests against the DWC and a clamour for the elephants to be taken elsewhere.

But that is not the answer, the Sunday Timeslearns. These wild elephants have been in the area from time immemorial. It is almost impossible to remove them by force from their ‘traditional homes’ and incarcerate them in Protected Areas elsewhere. If that is done they do not survive. Like in other parts of the country, countless elephant drives have been carried out in Ehetuwewa and Galgamuwa areas annually. The DWC is forced to continue this activity although such drives are futile and, in fact, increase rather than mitigate the HEC.

(Elephant falls victim to the wrath of villagers)
Thereafter, some of these free-roaming elephants have been fenced in, limiting their range to the Inginimitiya reservoir and the teak plantation in Galgamuwa and preventing them from utilizing half their home range on the Ehetuwewa side. As a result the elephants have no recourse, but to break the fences or starve to death. In such situations, it is the problem-causing male elephants that break the fences and continue their depredations, but the innocent female herds and young which suffer.The CCR had facilitated the DWC to track a number of elephants using radio collars which clearly showed that the elephants refused to leave and/or kept returning to their ‘traditional homelands’ where they had lived all their lives, being born, eating, drinking, mating, producing babies, growing up and dying.

Making matters worse, the Sunday Times understands, is that in an elephant drive, there is severe confrontation. Elephants are confronted inside the forest where they are hiding during the day, they are hollered at, thousands of huge fire-crackers are lit and thrown at them and they are sprayed with shotgun pellets.

“The elephants face this intense conflict repeatedly and who is the perpetrator of their pain, agony and trauma? Humans! Then, when they do not leave, or return to their homeland, as they are wont to do and as scientific research has established beyond doubt, what would be the consequence? They go into the fields and when a farmer tries to chase them, the elephants simply see red. What else can be expected of wild animals,” asks Dr. Fernando.

This is why co-habitation between human and elephant must and should be woven into the development plan and measures taken to ensure this, he adds

Source : 26/09/2016 Sunday Times http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160918/news/co-habitation-between-man-and-elephant-the-only-answer-to-solve-hec-209067.html

Sinharaja’s slithering new beauty

Hidden from sight high in the tree canopy is a new and vividly-coloured snake now revealed by veteran herpetologist Mendis Wickramasinghe in an article published this week in the prestigious science journal, Zootaxa.

“The snake lives in the canopy of the forest and that could be the reason it eludes the eyes of researchers who frequent Sinharaja,” Mr. Wickramasinghe explained. He had first seen the snake as early as 2001 while conducting other research and had continued to search for this snake afterwards, managing to spot just six such specimens.

He has named the new snake the Sinharaja tree snake or Sinharaja bronze-backed snake.

The Sinharaja tree snake is a beautiful reptile with a unique colour pattern of prominent cross-bars in black and white and a red neck. It has a dark purple tongue. It has a slender body, rounded pupils, enlarged vertebral scales, and a head distinct from the body.

The live specimen Mr. Wickremasinghe photographed was recorded 15m high up in trees near Kudawa. “I was on top of a small cliff so the tree canopy was at eye level when I spotted the beauty,” he said, recalling his chance encounter.

The snake is active during the day and lives in the trees. Its large pupils give it very good eyesight, and Mr. Wickremasinghe believes sight, more than scent, is used to hunt prey. The snake could be feeding on geckos, lizards, skinks and could be laying its eggs in tree hollows.

The holotype or the single type specimen upon which the scientific description and name of a new species is based was unfortunately a member of the species run over on the road near Mederipitiya. Mr. Wickramasinghe preserved it in formalin and then began the painful scientific process of comparing it with specimens of other snakes to make sure it was not, in fact, already known to science.

Mr. Wickremasinghe assigned the snake to the genus Dendrelaphis and gave it the scientific name Dendrelaphis sinharajensis. In Sinhala, it is called Sinharaja haldanda and in Tamil, Sinharaja komberi.

The Dendrelaphis genus has 44 members around the world. There are six bronze-backed snakes in the country, three of them endemic. Although they share many common features, the colour pattern of Sinharaja tree snake makes it easily distinguishable from its close relatives.

The Sinharaja tree snake is rarely sighted, so it is likely to be rare, Mr. Wickramasinghe said, stressing the need for more research into the species.

Habitat loss and forest fragmentation could affect this species directly as it need trees to survive. But, sadly, the axe of destruction moves at the boundaries of the Sinharaja forest.

With the new discovery, Mendis Wickremasinghe has scientifically described 23 new species – two snakes, 11 amphibians, seven geckos and three skinks. He hinted that another discovery is on the way, so keep checking The Sunday Times for another new species very soon.

Source :25/09/2016 Sunday Times  http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160918/news/sinharajas-slithering-new-beauty-209050.html

Environmentalists, officials, trade insults over fires

The fires were reported from a number of areas including the Knuckles mountain range , Hambantota, Nuwara Eliya, Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Badulla, Disaster Management Centre (DMC) officials said.

Environmentalists claim the significant loss of animal and plant life was caused by lack of adequate action by the DMC, the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Forest Department.

“The Knuckles range, which is also a World Heritage Site, is known for harbouring endemic animals that can only be found at that area. This fire is more than enough to wipe out several species from existence,” environmental researcher Gayan Wijetunga said.

He explained forest fires were caused by carelessness such as through people throwing cigarette butts onto the ground or when – mostly during the dry season – poachers and farmers set fire to the undergrowth to attract deer afterwards to newly-sprouting plants or to clear land for farming.

Endemic frogs, small mammals, lizards, snakes, tortoises and even big animals are burnt alive during such fires, which spread fast with winds.

Another environmentalist, Supun Lahiru Prakash of the Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle, also said the DMC, DWC and the Forest Department were slow to respond to forest fires, especially when there were no houses in the area or threat to human life.

He said that when forest undergrowth disappears in fires invasive plant species take over while providing no edible food for the wildlife.

Forest fires, he added, can be a prelude to other disasters such as the drying-up of water springs and landslides.

The use of fires is forbidden in any protected reserves. Use of fire and arsonists can be penalised under the Fauna and Flora Act and the Wildlife Act, but even when villagers captured the culprits the police and the DWC did not pursue charges, Mr Prakash said.

Rangers of the Forest and Wildlife departments should be given equipment to fight fires and training to stop fires, he said.

The DWC Director of Operations, W.S.K. Pathiratna, insisted his department had assisted the Forest Department to manage the fire.

“Prevention is the best way to stop forest fires,” he added. “During hot periods we trim the savannah forests and create fire belts (removal of undergrowth to a length of five metres to prevent fire from reaching other areas). We also have to maintain that,” he said.

He said poachers were now setting fire to parks during droughts to hunt bigger animals, burning and allowing regrowth to attract more animals to the area.

Mr. Pathiratna said anyone who lit a fire in a wildlife reserve would be taken to court and could be fined Rs. 30,000-100,000 but the chances of catching culprits was difficult.

DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said Air Force helicopters had to make more than 50 flights to help firefighting efforts in the Knuckles ranges, and fuel for a single trip cost Rs. 50,000.

“Officials of the three forces and the police, district DMC officials, the Forest Department and the Wildlife Department joined forces when the Knuckles fire broke out and fought it for days to stop the fire from spreading,” he said, rejecting claims that not enough effort had been made to control the conflagration.

“Environmentalists and NGOs claim that we did nothing but actually they are the ones who stay at home and just provide comments,” he retorted.

Police Superintendent Ruwan Gunasekara said Ududumbara police officials were the first to respond to the fire and alerted other police posts as well as governmental departments.

“We are still unaware whether the fire was a result of human activity. If culprits are found they will be punished under the Penal Code under the offence of Mischief by Arson,” he said.

“Investigations of forest fires are difficult but if a culprit is found legal action would be taken against,” he said.

Source : 25/09/2016 Sunday Times http://www.sundaytimes.lk/160918/news/environmentalists-officials-trade-insults-over-fires-209045.html

National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week in Galle

The main event of the National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week and Coastal Cleanup Programme organised by the Marin Environment Protection Authority and Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management was held in Galle under the patronage of Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijayalal de Silva on Friday.

The programme initiated following the Blue Green concept of President Maitripala Sirisena and Mahaweli Development and Environment was also attended by Marine Environment Protection Authority chairman Rear Admiral (Rtd) Rohana Perera and Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department director general B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi.

Schoolchildren and teachers, officials of the Galle district office, Galle Four Gravets Divisional Secretariat office, Southern Provincial Environment Ministry and representatives of environment organisations participated.

A cleaning programme along the beach at Devata, Galle followed the inauguration of the National Coastal and Marine Resources Conservation Week.

Source: 26/09/2016 Daily  News http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016/09/26/local/94040

CLIMATE CHANGE: There are no options

Climate change is inevitable, but disaster and catastrophe are not

Sadly Sri Lanka has not contributed greatly to the current situation but, as global citizens, we share the responsibility to ensure that Sri Lanka and indeed this world is left in a condition in which future generations can prosper By implementing them sooner than later, it places us in a win-win scenario. For example, by harvesting and storing rainwater during higher rainfall seasons, we can increase our climate resistance whilst also addressing our current developmental objectives.

Source: 23/09/2016 Daily Mirror ,http://www.dailymirror.lk/116274/Climate-change-There-are-no-options

Zoo Elephants’ entitlement comfort inn captivity

For most of us, the Dehiwala Zoo is a place of interest as there are so many animals to be viewed; but for some others, it is a place where large animals that cannot speak are forced to entertain and are confined to small areas and remain chained for most of their lives.

Elephants at the Dehiwala Zoo cannot remember a day when they were free of chains. The Dehiwala Zoo commenced operations in 1939 and is one of the oldest zoos in Asia; however, since its inception no director general saw it fit to rid these poor animals of their chains.

When Ceylon Today visited the Dehiwala Zoo, the most heartbreaking sight was that of a baby elephant lifting its front leg and trying to remove the chain with the trunk and another in another similar scene, another elephant calf was trying to remove its chain from the leg by its trunk. This is the stress and trauma these majestic animals are put through just so that visitors can come and stare at them. These elephants in captivity are highly stressed and this is visible by the way they sway backwards and forwards while confined to their small enclosures and kept for viewing.

The African elephant Jora was brought from Botswana together with a female Nandipa around 1995. Nandipa died at the zoo in 2005. Since then, the zoo officials have seen no need to get Jora a partner. Jora remains tied in a small area at the zoo.
According to zoo officials Jora is not allowed to interact with the other elephants because he is of a different species. According to former Deputy Director Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWLC) and elephant expert Dr. Nandana Atapattu elephants are social animals and require the company of other animals.

But despite the plight of these animals local and foreign visitors can be seen blatantly taking pictures and showing their children these animals in chains as if they were a painting to be admired.

The decision to construct an open elephant enclosure for the first time in the history at the zoo was taken by a former Director General of the zoo Brigadier H.A.N.T Perera way back in 2004. It was Brigadier Perera who understood the suffering of these large animals and decided it was about time they were freed of their chains. The extent of the elephant area at the time was six acres and the estimated cost was Rs 35 million. However, the land allocated for the open elephant enclosure was reduced to a little more than one acre; due to the lack of space, at the Dehiwala Zoo.

The open elephant arena was to be completed by the first quarter of 2005. But even today, zoo officials are still struggling to complete this elephant enclosure.

Acting Director General Dammika Malsinghe told Ceylon Today that work on the open elephant enclosure was stopped temporarily; due an internal problem with the Buildings Department. “I have spoken to the relevant officials and work on the elephant enclosure will commence soon. When the elephants are kept in a free roaming area, minus their chains, the mahouts lose control over the animals. Plans are underway to complete the elephant enclosure by the end 2016,” Malsinghe said.
But the zoo authorities are yet to come up with a plan to release Jora the African elephant from his chains. “When the elephant enclosure is complete all the elephants except the African elephant will be put in the new enclosure. We have to decide if we are to keep Jora at Dehiwala or send him to the Hambantota Safari Park,” Malsinghe said.

The delay in the construction of the open elephant enclosure through the years was due to the change in directors, before the work was completed. With the change in government Brig. Perera was removed from his post as Director General and his plans for the open elephant arena was delayed.

The previous, Director General, Bashwara Gunaratne, who took office in 2010, told Ceylon Today at the time, that the open elephant enclosure would be completed by December 2011. However, Gunaratne’s tenure as Director General was over in mid 2012 and the open elephant enclosure was not completed when he left.

In late June 2012, the then Director General Anura de Silva, told Ceylon Today, that they hope to complete the open elephant enclosure by December 2012. “Due to a lapse on the part of the State Engineering Corporation work on the elephant arena was further delayed and not completed in December 2012. I have told the State Engineering Corporation, that work on this area has to be completed by the end of August 2013. We are not in a position to cancel the agreement we have signed with the State Engineering Corporation as they were chosen after having called for tenders.” De Silva said at the time.

“When some of the elephants tested positive for Tuberculosis they were kept in the area where the open elephant enclosure was to be built and work was delayed further.”

“If an elephant is tame there is no need to use the bullhook and chains to control the animal. If there are professional and experienced mahouts they should know how to command and control the animals. Elephants are intelligent animals and understand better than humans. In foreign zoos Asian and African elephants are kept without chains. If an elephant can’t be taken without chains then don’t take that animal anywhere. Elephants walk for 20 kilo metres a day in the jungle. Some animals may walk in one place and go round and round but that amount of distance is covered by the animal. This exercise helps to keep the animal’s body healthy. If, however, the animal exceeds 20 kilo metres he will stop and rest for a while. At least five acres of land is needed for five adult elephants to roam in an open enclosure. If the Dehiwala Zoo doesn’t have enough space to keep these elephants they should be taken to a place where there is sufficient space for the elephants to roam,” Dr.Atapattu explained.

The zoo is also criticized for forcing elephants to perform at the elephant show every day at 4.30 p.m.
“I hate to see elephants standing on their heads, sitting on small stools and standing on two legs to perform. The elephant doesn’t play the mouth organ even though children are made to believe that they do. 20 per cent of the breathing is done by the elephant’s mouth and 80 by the trunk. When the mouth organ is kept close to the elephant’s mouth every time, the elephant breathes, the mouth organ makes a sound. I detest elephants being forced to perform these gimmicks due to fear of the ankus and the kris knife. Fruits are given to elephants when they perform a trick, just like giving a baby a chocolate. Elephant shows have been a zoo feature since the inception of the zoo and it is high time this was stopped,” Dr. Atapattu explained.

Zoologist Dilan Peiris says not many people know the meaning of a zoo. “The purpose of a zoo is to conserve and protect its animals for future generations. All zoos should work towards the welfare of the animals. But the Dehiwala Zoo is not moving forward but backwards when it comes to animal welfare. The elephant performance at the Dehiwala Zoo shows that there is no animal welfare when it comes to these animals. The elephant shows should be stopped immediately. Why should animals be forced to perform to entertain visitors? Forcing these animals to perform is not good for their health. Educational programmes should be introduced for children at the Dehiwala Zoo. The zoo should not be closed down but should be improved where animal welfare is concerned,” Peiris explained.

Zoo officials, however, have no plans of stopping the elephant performance. “The elephant show is continuing at the zoo. But some items such as the elephants standing on stools and in an up-right position were stopped recently. The item where the elephants stand on their heads was stopped some time ago. Educational items such as how an elephant carries a log have been introduced to the show instead,” Malsinghe said.

The first elephant show was in 1947. However Jora the African elephant and Bandula are not taken for the elephant shows. Bandula is used to carry the elephants meals that consist of leaves and branches to the elephant shed. While transporting the food Bandula is untied for a short period of time. Bandula the oldest male elephant was brought to the zoo in 1949.

Source : 20/09/2016  Ceylon Today, http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20160701CT20161030.php?id=5785

Sri Lanka to shift farmers from elephant corridors

Sri Lanka today announced it was planning to relocate farmers living on the edges of forests inhabited by elephants to reduce the numbers killed on both sides.

Wildlife minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said the island’s elephant population had dropped to 6,000, from 7,379 counted five years ago, as deadly encounters between animals and humans increase.
“Although various measures like erecting of electric fences were taken to prevent human-elephant conflicts, so far this has not been resolved,” Perera said in a statement.
“Steps are being taken to resolve the issue by relocating the inhabitants in identified elephant migratory pathways.”

He did not say how many farmers would be relocated in 18 affected districts out of the island’s total of 25. But elephant expert Jayantha Jayewardene said he believed thousands were encroaching on elephant habitats and moving them would be a challenge.
“Sri Lankan elephants usually don’t migrate from one area to another, but what has happened is that thousands of farmers have encroached and split the traditional habitat of elephants.

“This means frequent clashes and we need a much more thought out plan to deal with the problem,” Jayewardene told AFP. “Evicting thousands of people will not be easy. One thing is sure, more elephants than people get killed in this battle.”

Elephants are considered sacred animals in Sri Lanka and killing them is a criminal offence, punishable by death.

But officials said there had been a rapid expansion of farms near wildlife parks, shrinking elephant habitats and causing frequent clashes between the two.

Official figures show 270 people and 942 elephants were killed in such encounters across the country over four years to 2014. Some 5,095 homes were damaged during the same period.

Wild elephants were also killed after being hit by trains and due to floods and lightening strikes. Female elephants are known to have been killed so that their babies can be snatched and kept as pets.

Owning a baby elephant is a status symbol in Sri Lanka although authorities recently began a crackdown against the trend.

Source : 15/09/2016  Business standard  http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sri-lanka-to-shift-farmers-from-elephant-corridors-116091400954_1.html