Sri Lanka Conducts First Elephant census

Sri Lanka Conducts First Elephant census

In an effort to save the habitat of elephants in Sri Lanka, the Wildlife Department decided to count the number of elephants in the island’s forests.

According to Chandrawansa Pathiraja, the head of the Wildlife Department, the census will start on August 13, which is the day of the full moon next month and will run for over two days.  The survey aims to determine the minimum number of elephants, distribution of the population and the composition of herds, including males, females, babies and tuskers, and they will be counted as they come to drink from water holes, reservoirs and tanks. He also adds that, “The census we do can be used for many years for the policymakers and government authorities in order to prepare policies and projects aimed at conservation of elephants,"

Apart from statistics, this will also establish if there is a need for legislation to regulate the elephant population.

In Sri Lanka, elephants are considered sacred animals, they are usually dressed and decorated while being used in religious ceremonies. These gentle giants were also used as means of transportation in the past. However, due to recent developments, their natural habitats are being used by humans which results to the elephants’ visits to the villages and harming the crops of farmers and some even killing other people, accidentally.

In effect, the farmers would also be responsible for killing around 250 elephants every year, either by defending their crops or households.

There is an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 elephants in Sri Lanka according to Wildlife officials, however there were no actual counts made since the last, which is about a century ago.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday July 14 2011, 4:33 AM EST. Ref: Reuters. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0