Sri Lanka tames wild elephant
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After spending several weeks of trying Sri Lankan wildlife officials on Sunday tamed a lone elephant who had been terrorizing several villages in the island's Central Province.
W. A. Dharmakeerthi, a veterinary surgeon from the Department of Wildlife told reporters that the elephant was tamed after tranquilizers were injected to the animal.
The elephant was destroying an onion growing field at Sigiriya Sunday morning when the Wildlife officials managed to inject tranquilizers.
"The elephant is currently tied and clamped," Dharmakeeerthi said.
The lone elephant has been terrorizing villagers of five villages near Sigiriya while destroying crops in the last several weeks, said Dharmakeerthi.
Several attempts to tame the elephant had been unsuccessful till Sunday, Dharmakeerthi said.
Wildlife experts estimate that every year nearly 100 wild elephants were killed to protect crops and houses in Sri Lanka and the number of wild elephants has decreased to less than 3,000 in recent years from around 11,000 in 1900.
Poaching, deforestation, drought and starvation also contribute to the decrease of wild elephant population in the island.
