The preservation of the elephant population in the wild warrants urgent evaluation
By Shakuntala Perera
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
No other animal in Sri Lanka has suffered the wrath of human interference like the elephant. Every year records a number of elephant deaths that the country can ill afford. If there are no ill planned elephant drives killing them, there are the gun shots. The latest in the series of causes for concern was the finding of a calf in chains at a location in Athurugiriya. The owner of the calf could not produce a proper license.
 Captive elephant calves
The Flying Squad of the Wild Life Department found the three year old male calf chained under inhuman conditions in a private estate called 'Morahena Watte' in Walgama and arrested both the keeper and another person in connection with the illegal capture and holding of the calf. According to the Head of the Flying Squad, Upali Padmasiri this is part of a larger racket involving some very influential people in the country. "We carried out the raid from information we received of the holding of such a calf without a license. We have been on the look out for the whereabouts of a significant number of calves that went missing from the Habarana area earlier in the year.
According to Padmasiri certain discrepancies in the licensing scheme and irregularities in the procedures in transportation were in the way of better protecting the calves against this racket. "What they do now is duplicate the registration number of a domesticated dead cow elephant which may have died years ago as the mother of the calf and register these calves. Then they are able to be kept and transported without much difficulty. The police posts also have no way of verifying this information further because on paper everything is in order," he adds.
A further cause for concern is the manner in which the calves are captured. According to reports there are two methods used in the captures. One is to throw flares at a herd with calves and create panic in their midst. When the fear drives the cow elephants in confusion leaving the calves isolated, they (the calves) are driven away from the herd and captured. The second method involves fitting anesthetic infused wooden spikes to trees along the narrow corridors. These spikes would hit the calves as they move through these paths and thereafter when the calves are unconscious, they are isolated from the herd and captured.
 Padmasiri expresses concern over the immediate consequences of this type of inhuman treatment of these innocent animals. "When the herd realizes the calves have gone missing the herd goes into panic and then rage. That's when the cow elephants especially start raiding and attacking nearby villages looking for the calves. The animals in this state of anger are capable of much damage which could account for the attacks we've heard of recently from these areas. Apart from doing something very illegal, these people who carryout this racket also put innocent villagers in much danger," he adds.
In a sad note to this twisted tale there are reports of 12 other calves in captivity captured in this same manner. The department is reportedly aware of the locations of at least 10 of such calves held in captivity. Alarmingly, the locations point the finger at some very influential persons in the country. Thankfully the officers of the department have the fullest support of the Minister of Environment, Champika Ranawaka which is a rarity in this country which has some very unpleasant records of interference on the part of the political hierarchy in this kind of activity. The department is concerned however that the calves maybe transported out of the locations detected or worse still have the calves killed and their bodies disposed of to avoid legal persecution.
The elephant population
 According to the Ministry of Environment, the cows to calves ratio which is used to measure the population growth rate is decreasing. In 1993 it was 100:47 and in 2004 it was reduced to 100:23. It is generally known that the fertility period of the female elephant is 15-45 years and within that period she generally gives birth to 5-7 babies. So population-wise female elephants and their age distribution is a very important factor in deciding the growth of the elephant population. (It should be also noted that most of the elephants killed were male elephants.) If the country were to extrapolate the elephant population on figures based on surveys in 1993 and 2004 it could be estimated that Sri Lankan elephant population ranges from 3000 - 4000, of which the fertile female elephant population would be 1000 - 1500. So it could be expected that at least 200 - 250 baby elephants would be born annually.
According to the Ministry the recorded deaths per annum is 160-200 leading them to the conclusion that the growth rate of the Sri Lankan elephant population is being retarded. Although the Sri Lankan elephant population is not diminishing, it is reaching its saturation point. The Ministry believes that without allowing the situation to exacerbate further, a comprehensive plan to protect and conserve the elephants should be launched.
Demand for domestication
The increasing demand by those who own elephants for provisions to domesticate more elephants, (demands from or having the support of some of the most influential persons in the country), is worrying. There is the legitimate fear that authorities will be forced to meet these demands at some point. Sadder still are moves to promote the idea that the domestication of elephants is a good way of conserving the animal. There is alarming support for the move from within the Ministry of Environment. There is also an argument being mooted that domestication could be a very viable solution to the human elephant conflict in the country. According to those pushing the move, there is now a drop in the number of domesticated elephants in the country. They claim that 'soon the temples won't even have an elephant to walk a perahera. Certainly much of the country's cultural pride lay in the presence of the elephant in such pageants as the Dalada Perahera. And the kind and compassionate use of the elephants by the Buddhist temples hitherto cannot be denied. We have never heard of any elephants belonging to a temple being uncared for or treated inhumanely. But it is the move by a few to exploit the animal for commercial purposes that need to raise everyone's concern and consequently, the resistance against the demand for domestication.
 According to the Domesticated Elephant Owners' Association, the numbers of domesticated elephants have dropped to 137 out of which 10 were cows and 17 were tuskers. Reportedly there are 65 domesticated elephant owners in the country and around 400-500 domesticated elephants out of which only around 60 to 70 elephants can be used in peraheras. But much of the blame for this lies in the reluctance of elephant owners to breed through domesticated cow elephants, as it prevents the use of the elephant for another four to five years. They claim that on the last occasion the government supplied elephants for domestication was in 1975. And in order to maintain that supply they have not captured any animals from the wild for commercial purposes. Their argument is that since the ones available are over 30 years are no longer viable for breeding. The apathy towards this monstrous move is gaining strength despite available evidence that it was not advisable to capture elephants beyond over forty years of age. Apart from the torture such elephants suffer in the process of being captured, the fact that such capture and domestication leaves an elephant totally broken of spirit is overlooked.
We reported earlier this year the case of an elephant 'allegedly' captured by Wildlife Conservation Department (DWLC) officials who later attempted to convince the Environment Minister to ceremoniously hand it over to the Dalada Maligawa. This elephant was found fighting for its life after being chained at an estate in Mawanella for weeks.
A 45-year bull elephant, which was captured at Dahaiyagala area in the last week of March was found with deep injuries on all four legs after being kept chained for more than a month.
Environmentalists expressed concern that the elephant had been left unattended for a long period and even the vet. attached to the Domesticated Elephant Owners' Association was found to have withdrawn from treating the elephant saying the condition of the elephant was grave.
Protecting the wild elephant
Certainly there is no denying that we cannot do away with the need for elephants for cultural events like peraheras. In fact the use of elephants by temples is not for commercial gain. But considering the number of demands in the guise of cultural needs from those who want to domesticate elephants for commercial purposes, a programme is needed to isolate these ruses from the needs of the temples. Any shortages in the temples can be met from elephants found at the Pinnawela or Udawalawe transit camps.
It must be appreciated that the function of the Ministry of Environment and the Department of Wild Life is essentially of preserving the elephant and not in commercializing them. The country has seen the increasing depreciation of the animal due to various ill planned drives etc. A debate on the subject may well result in a death knell of the elephant in the wild. Already the numbers are far too low for the authorities to even consider the idea leave alone creating a platform for it. |
The Ministry of Environment will soon launch a programme to monitor the treatment meted out to all tamed elephants in the country, Minister of Environment Patali Champika Ranawaka said recently. 
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