DWC spearheading efforts to treat injured elephant in Madunagala

“This elephant has suffered a gunshot injury to a joint and is therefore unable to walk long distances. It has moved from Walsapugala to Madunagala sanctuary which spans across 2-3km”
- Dr. Malaka Abeywardena, Officer-in-Charge, Uda Walawe Elephant 
Transit Home

“There are no administrative barriers when it comes to treating animals. We usually supply stocks that would suffice for an entire year but we also have a strategy to maintain stocks of medicines and other supplies in these offices”
- DWC Director General M.G.C Sooriyabandara 

An image of a wild elephant taking refuge at a lake in Madunagala, reportedly with a gunshot injury, is being shared widely on social media. According to the comments, social media users claim that their attempts to contact the Department of Wildlife Conservation proved futile. However the Daily Mirror learned that the veterinary surgeons are already treating the elephant and that plans are underway to relocate the elephant to a safer location. 

Wild animals, a threat to illegal encroachers

Officials at the Hambantota Wildlife Office confirmed that they had treated the elephant twice before. “But his condition is similar to that of Agbo – an iconic tusker injured in the leg by a trap gun. The elephant is around 25 years old and had been roaming the Managed Elephant Reserve (MER). But there are various illegal constructions within the Reserve and people open fire at elephants to keep them away from their vegetable plots,” an official said, speaking on conditions of anonymity. 
He said that shotguns and muzzleloaders are being used to chase away elephants and other wild animals. “Some of these weapons are licensed, but with the support from Special Task Force camps in Walsapugala and Hambantota we conduct raids on these weapons and their owners. Some are being used illegally as well,” he said. 
When asked if they have challenges in responding to an emergency of this nature, the official said that they receive support from nearby wildlife offices. “We have already made a request to release medicines and other provisions to treat the elephant,” the official added. 

Elephant to be trans-located 

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Officer-in-Charge Uda Walawe Elephant Transit Home Dr. Malaka Abeywardena said that he had treated the elephant in question around a week ago. “This elephant has suffered a gunshot injury to a joint in the front right leg and is therefore unable to walk long distances. It has moved from Walsapugala to Madunagala sanctuary which spans across 2-3km. But the issue is that the elephant is raiding nearby villages in search of food, posing a threat to villagers,” said Dr. Abeywardena. 
When asked how much it costs to treat an elephant Dr. Abeywardena said that it would cost around Rs. 100,000 for anesthetics and other medicines. “We cannot sedate an elephant all the time and therefore we treat them every four to five days. With sedatives they could develop other reactions. When treating an injury, the animal’s wellbeing is paramount. With regards to this elephant we have requested the DWC to make necessary allocations to translocate the animal to a safer location. I hope it will be done as soon as possible,” he added.

 
Necessary provisions will be allocated 

Speaking about the condition of the elephant DWC Director General M.G.C Sooriyabandara said that many false claims regarding the elephant are being shared on social media. “One person said that the elephant is trapped in mud. But that’s not true. There seems to be a campaign to remove the elephant from the area,” he added. 
When asked about provisions allocated to treat the animal Sooriyabandara said that during an emergency veterinary officers are allowed to obtain an advance payment and purchase any medical supplies from the stocks that are being maintained in regional DWC offices. “There are no administrative barriers when it comes to treating animals. We usually supply stocks that would suffice for an entire year but we also have a strategy to maintain stocks of medicines and other supplies in these offices. Veterinary officers could either do an emergency purchase or in the event that an animal needs to be trans-located, they are given the go-ahead to make necessary arrangements accordingly,” said Sooriyabandara. 
He further said that there is absolutely no dearth of finances to treat elephants or any other animal for that matter while affirming that all necessary provisions required to treat the elephant would be allocated accordingly. 

MER- A threat to elephants? 

Back in 2021, farmers in Walsapugala and surrounding areas staged a protest demanding the government to declare the MER. Even though the idea to setup the MER was proposed in 2009, it took 12 years for a Wildlife Minister to issue a gazette declaring the area. The MER connects Uda Walawe, Lunugamwehera and Bundala National Park. Even though 25,000-30,000 hectares of the MER were to be gazette, illegal clearings and encroachments reduced the extent of land to around 12,000 hectares. The farmers themselves pressured the government to declare this area as an elephant reserve as a solution to the Human-Elephant Conflict.  
However as mentioned earlier, the MER has become a potential ground for illegal encroachers, setting up illegal constructions, vegetable plots and other establishments. Land belonging to the Forest Department, Mahaweli Authority and DWC lie within this area and each one of these institutions have a collective responsibility to preserve migratory routes of elephants and elephant habitats. Even when the MER was being gazetted stone quarries, mega scale cultivation projects were already in operation. 
When asked whether the gazette is in effect, Sooriyabandara said that all institutions should work to ensure that the gazette is implemented in full. “The DWC plays a coordinating role to conserve the environment. Therefore we are monitoring the area and are keeping watch on any illegal activities. I believe that even the other two institutions are doing their best to minimize illegal activities happening within the MER.” Said Sooriyabandara.