Seven young elephants drown in Sri Lanka

Wildlife authorities in Sri Lanka found seven carcasses of young elephants believed to have drowned in the biggest single loss of the animals in five years.

An official said the onset of the southwest monsoon had caused flooding in the elephant habitat in Dimbulagala, around 250 km northeast of the capital, Colombo.

“We were alerted by villagers to three young elephants who had drowned last evening, but when we went to the marshy area, we found four more,” a regional wildlife official said.

He said autopsies would be carried out on the seven carcasses on Monday, but a preliminary investigation suggested that the animals had gotten bogged down in the marsh and drowned.

In 2019, seven elephants were similarly found dead in the north-central region of the country. A year earlier in 2018, another seven drowned closer to the area where the latest deaths were reported.

According to the latest official data, Sri Lanka’s wild elephant population has dwindled to just over 7,000, down from an estimated 12,000 at the beginning of the last century.