Wild elephant killed, burned and buried; suspect arrested

• The elephant suspected to have been cut into parts with an electric saw

By Prabath Neththasingha   

A 47-year-old person was arrested on suspicion of killing a wild  elephant and burning it in a pit, according to the Nikaweratiya Wildlife  Office. 

Wildlife officials suspect that the wild elephant may have died a few  days ago after becoming entangled in an electric wire used for pigs.

After receiving information that parts of a dead wild elephant had been  burned and buried on private land in the Kotuattawala area of  ​​ Nikaweratiya, wildlife officers initiated an investigation.

The owner of the land in question was arrested in the Kurunegala area.  The arrested suspect was to be produced before the Nikaweratiya  Magistrate’s Court by the Wildlife Department. Several charges,  including killing an elephant using traps and concealing the killing,  are to be presented against the suspect under the Animal and Flora  Protection Act.

It is suspected that the body of the dead wild elephant was  cut into parts with an electric saw and then buried. The body parts of  the wild elephant were recovered yesterday (30) with the help of a  backhoe. Under the instruction of Isuru Hewakotta, a veterinarian of the  wildlife department, the body was exhumed and steps were taken to bury  it again. Investigations revealed that the dead wild elephant was a 7–8  feet tall animal.