Iconic tusker’s plight reveals challenges in managing Sri Lanka’s wild elephants

ANURADHAPURA, Sri Lanka — “He’s a king and not using a crown.”

That is how wildlife lovers check with the majestic elephant Agbo, named after a king from an historical kingdom of people overlapping with some areas of Agbo’s dwelling vary in north-central Sri Lanka.

Agbo is among the many largest Sri Lankan tuskers, so there was no problem for him within the wilderness, however one fateful day, Agbo fell sufferer to a lure gun set by a hunter.

A number of metallic pellets penetrated Agbo’s left entrance leg, making it onerous to maneuver. Agbo, a beast identified for its majestic look and actions, was making painful ugly hops to maneuver ahead.

Noticing the elephant’s plight, villagers in Thirappane (the place Agbo was shot) notified the native workplace of the Division of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), which rapidly dispatched a workforce to maintain the wounded tusker.

The wildlife workforce sedated the elephant, and a better look revealed the severity of the injuries.

“The metallic pellets have penetrated Agbo’s entrance left leg, which made him almost motionless and the leg was swollen with indicators of an infection,” stated Tharaka Prasad, DWC chief veterinary surgeon who oversaw Agbo’s remedy.

Agbo’s left front leg was severely injured when a trap gun went off, making it difficult and painful for the elephant to move. Image courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe. — Agbo’s left entrance leg was severely injured when a lure gun went off, making it troublesome and painful for the elephant to maneuver. Picture courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe.

Despite the injury, the elephant was not ready to tolerate the presence of a ready-to-assist wildlife team, which ensured some close encounters like this one, when Agbo charged after the veterinary team. Image courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe. — Regardless of the damage, the elephant was not able to tolerate the presence of a ready-to-assist wildlife workforce, which ensured some shut encounters like this one, when Agbo charged after the veterinary workforce. Picture courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe.

The vets cleaned the wound and began on a course of sturdy antibiotics to forestall the an infection from spreading. Nevertheless it was not a straightforward job, as Agbo gave cost to those that tried to get shut, and finally, a dart gun was used to shoot each sedatives and medication. His injured leg hindered free motion, however regardless of that, wildlife officers had remarkably shut calls at occasions with the tusker in ache.

The vets additionally took a scanner to the sphere to X-ray Agbo’s leg to evaluate the extent of damage. “The bullets by the lure gun brought about damage to the elephant’s wrist joint,” Tharaka informed Mongabay. The wildlife workforce initially camped out and needed to usually go to the elephant for remedy.

In the meantime, the information about Agbo’s sorry plight unfold on nationwide media and on social media. Villagers dwelling within the distant areas are essentially the most affected by elephants, however even they had been so moved by Agbo’s plight, they voluntarily introduced vegetables and fruit as fodder for the beast. Wildlife fanatics, too, contributed in sort to avoid wasting Agbo.

Named after an ancient king, Agbo is among the largest wild tuskers to inhabit Sri Lanka. He is known as an aggressive male elephant with its home range in Anuradhapura in north-central Sri Lanka, where human-elephant conflict is significantly high. Image courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe. — Named after an historical king, Agbo is among the many largest wild tuskers to inhabit Sri Lanka. He is named an aggressive male elephant with its dwelling vary in Anuradhapura in north-central Sri Lanka, the place human-elephant battle is considerably excessive. Picture courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe.

Many months of remedy

After greater than 4 months of remedy, Agbo began to point out indicators of restoration. Tharaka informed Mongabay that the damage has left its mark: Agbo won’t ever once more have his majestic gait and should even find yourself with a everlasting limp because of the stiff wrist joint, although he’ll be capable to roam the jungles once more.

However a brand new downside started to emerge as Agbo began to maneuver extra freely. The elephant acquired meals in the course of the remedy interval as he couldn’t transfer. He additionally received used to the meals he was given. Recognized to be an aggressive elephant and a crop raider, Agbo then started shifting towards fringes of close by villages and was usually noticed on the highway. “The elephant is now reported to be staying close to the roadside searching for meals, and locals additionally say it has begun raiding retailers for meals,” stated Dinuka Munasinghe, a nature photographer.

Tharaka Prasad, chief veterinary surgeon of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) using a scanner in the field to X-ray the elephant’s foot. Image courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe. — Tharaka Prasad, chief veterinary surgeon of the Division of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) utilizing a scanner within the subject to X-ray the elephant’s foot. Picture courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe.

The elephant was even sluggish to reply when wildlife officers tried to chase him away, as he appeared to have habituated towards people together with his lengthy remedy course of. Agbo’s case was certainly a posh scenario, stated veterinarian Tharaka. The precedence was to deal with the elephant for his lure gun wound to forestall him from growing a life-threatening an infection, so vets needed to sedate him a number of occasions and infrequently went nearer to the animal to make use of dart weapons to inject medication. The elephant may hardly transfer, so he additionally needed to be fed.

“We needed to proceed this for greater than 4 months, the place the elephant confirmed indicators of habituation towards people, however we didn’t have every other possibility,” Tharaka added. Now, Agbo seems to have began to raid fields once more and reveals no concern of people. His dwelling vary has loads of farmlands, so there’s additionally a heightened threat that somebody could shoot him. However translocation will not be a scientific answer, Tharaka informed Mongabay, explaining the challenges Sri Lanka’s wildlife directors face in managing problematic elephants.

Making their concern a actuality, Agbo was as soon as once more shot at, in early November. 5 bullets had been wedged into his again leg and the wildlife veterinary workforce needed to sedate the elephant over again to take away the bullets from his physique.

A trap gun is a locally made, mussel-loading illegal firearm used in Sri Lanka to hunt animals by setting it up on routes frequented by game animals such as wild boar. Image courtesy of Ape Pituwa of the DWC. — A lure gun is a regionally made, mussel-loading unlawful firearm utilized in Sri Lanka to hunt animals by setting it up on routes frequented by recreation animals reminiscent of wild boar. Picture courtesy of Ape Pituwa of the DWC.

Advanced downside

Agbo’s case displays a posh downside with no easy solutions, agreed wildlife biologist and conservationist Prithviraj Fernando of the Centre for Conservation and Analysis. Earlier than being wounded, Agbo used to crop raid and his response to folks within the early days of remedy was aggression.

That was based mostly on his previous experiences wherein folks would chase him after he raided their lands. Consequently, he recognized folks as potential threats with the flexibility to hurt him moreover stopping him from accessing the crops he needed to eat.

Nonetheless, in the course of the remedy interval, Agbo skilled people otherwise — folks voluntarily introduced him fodder and didn’t chase him away. As folks confirmed no aggression towards the injured animal, he, too, turned non-aggressive towards folks. When folks stopped feeding him, he would as soon as once more begin raiding crops and villagers would begin chasing him from their fields, making a sturdy answer troublesome, stated Fernando.

A dart gun was used to shoot both sedatives and medicine. Image courtesy of Ape Pituwa of the DWC. — A dart gun was used to shoot each sedatives and medication. Picture courtesy of Ape Pituwa of the DWC.

Some folks imagine that feeding Agbo “human meals” like greens and fruits made him raid extra usually, as he developed a style for human meals. The elephant now craves such meals, though vegetables and fruit are issues that elephants are naturally drawn to.

Nonetheless, he’s prone to strategy folks now (a minimum of for a short time), considering they are going to feed him. However when he finds they now not feed him and are again to stopping him from consuming and appearing aggressively towards him, he’ll reciprocate with aggression.

Lure weapons

A lure gun, which crippled Agbo, is a regionally made long-barrelled, muzzle-loading unlawful firearm generally used to hunt animals or to guard farmlands. Lure weapons are mounted horizontally on stick pegs mounted to the bottom with metallic items loaded into the barrel as ammunition. They’ve a triggering mechanism, which is normally a chord that throughout frequented by recreation animals. Wild animals usually fall sufferer to them.

Up to Nov. 24 this year, a total of 440 elephants have been killed. Graphic by Malaka Rodrigo. — As much as Nov. 24 this 12 months, a complete of 440 elephants have been killed. Graphic by Malaka Rodrigo.

Lure weapons, together with snares and hakka patas or “jaw bombs” that blow contained in the mouth when chewed, pose big issues to elephants, stated Fernando. All three are used for searching bushmeat quite than in opposition to elephants. Using these, significantly jaw exploders and snares, elevated considerably regardless of the regulation allowing the killing of untamed boar solely after they flip into agricultural pests.

“Wild boar is the goal of most of those traps, however whereas the regulation permits to kill wild boar for inflicting crop injury, it’s nonetheless unlawful to move or promote the meat” famend environmental lawyer, Jagath Gunawardana informed Mongabay.

Treating Agbo was difficult despite him being sedated, as a sudden move of his head could be enough to hurt those standing nearby, so even his tusk had to be roped. Image courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe. — Treating Agbo was troublesome regardless of him being sedated, as a sudden transfer of his head may very well be sufficient to harm these standing close by, so even his tusk needed to be roped. Picture courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe.

In keeping with the DWC statistics, as many as 440 elephants have been killed in Sri Lanka as much as Nov. 24. The three fundamental causes of elephant deaths within the island are: weapons, “hakka pattas” or jaw exploders and electrocution. In 2023, gunshots grew to become the main reason for loss of life for the pachyderms.

A complete of 80 elephants have died as a result of gunshot accidents, whereas electrocution claimed 57 lives and the jaw exploders, one other 43. The DWC additionally listed 134 elephant deaths as trigger unknown.

This 12 months has additionally recorded the very best annual human loss of life toll in historical past, with 155 deaths to date. The 12 months 2022 recorded 146 human deaths.

Quotation:

Kodikara, S., & Kudagama, M. (2014). Lure gun. American Journal of Forensic Drugs & Pathology, 35(1), 1-3. doi:10.1097/paf.0000000000000045

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This article by Malaka Rodrigo was first printed by Mongabay.com on 29 November 2023. Lead Picture: Agbo, an imposing wild tusker beneath remedy for lure gun-induced accidents to his left leg, courtesy of Dinuka Munasinghe.