Sri Lankan farmers have poisoned and killed at least seven elephants belonging to an endangered and protected species
The Sri Lankan authorities have recently found the remains of at least seven elephants, including a pregnant female, in a forest area in the center of the country.
The police have made it known that on a first examination the animals appear to be died from poisoning: the hypothesis is that the inhabitants of the neighboring villages poisoned the elephants. Farmers allegedly gave elephants poisoned food, guilty of damaging the crops found on the edge of the forest.
Elephants living in Sri Lanka belong to the Asian species of Elephas maximus maximus, included in the Red List of animal species drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and protected as it is considered to be at risk of extinction.
The population of these elephants living on the island is estimated to be reduced to only 7000 specimens, compared to the 14000 recorded in the early twentieth century.
To most threaten the survival of elephants is precisely theexpansion of agriculture: cultivated areas fragment and reduce the natural habitat and food resources of animals, which are forced to approach the cultivated areas in search of food.
The stress caused by the shortage of resources makes animals aggressive and the proximity between elephants and inhabited areas creates conflicts with farmers who try to drive away the specimens without success.
According to the authorities this latest episode of poisoning represents one of the most serious acts committed by man in recent years in the eternal conflict between wildlife and agricultural occupation.
Farmers probably therefore thought of solving the problem by poisoning the elephants, putting their economic interests in front of the protection of animals and biodiversity, a fundamental aspect for our future.
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Tatiana Maselli
Photo credit: La Vanguardia
