Wildlife Dept. to relocate marauding jumbos

The Sri Lanka Wildlife Department is to mount operations to capture and relocate elephants that frequent villages, Department source told Adaderana.

The project, beginning June 11, is to be initially carried out in the Wayamba (North Western) Province from where the majority of the human-elephant conflict incidents have been reported.

Wildlife Department officials said that one of the reasons for the pachyderms to frequent human habitat was the recent rains which had inundated areas near tanks and waterways frequented by them.

They said that the relocation project would be extended to other areas and that the captured elephants will be released in appropriate sanctuaries.