Elephants chased away to Sinharaja
S L Niroshana Ratnapura District corr.
Two wild elephants roaming the Sinharaja forest reserve have invaded
Ranathupitiya village in the Rakwana area causing fear among villagers.
Some environmental organizations said they were able to chase away
the two elephants to the jungle.
But Wild Life men said they have attempted to catch the two animals
but due to interference by some villagers they did not succeed during
the weekend. Later the villagers and the NGO - Sinharaja Mituro had
cooperated and the animals were chased out to the forest.
But Wild Life Department officer in charge of the Sinharaja zone
close to the village, B.H.Sumaratne said the environmental NGOs may
chase the animals out of the villages temporarily but they return later.
So far these elephants have killed four villagers.
Therefore it was the responsibility of the Department to catch the
elephants and release them to a suitable forest reserve. |