Army recovers 9th elephant carcass from swamp
September 5, 2018 06:40 pm
Sri Lankan Army has found yet another body of an elephant that had died by drowning in the mud of Periyaruwa Stream, in Thummodara Amuna.
According to the Girithale Wild Life Veterinarian, the body is of an elephant calf of one-and-half years of age.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs Palitha Thewarapperuma also attended the mission of the Army.
This is the 9th dead elephant that had been recovered from this swamp.
It is suspected that a herd of elephants had drowned in the Periyaruwa Stream by slipping into the mud when they tried to reach for water, due to the excessive growth of water hyacinth on the riverbank.
The bodies of the elephants have been sent over for examination under the supervision of Veterinary Surgeon Sameera Kalinguarachchi, attached to Girithale Wildlife Office.
The mission has been launched by the Army using backhoe machines to search if there are more such elephants buried in the mud.
Reportedly, the post mortem report of the dead elephants will be produced today (05).
