The Sri Lankan Elephant (Elephas maximus maximus) is an Endangered wildlife species. Even though Elephants have been used in captivity from ancient times, it is no longer ethical nor is it necessary to keep these majestic animals enslaved to fulfil the needs of man. Elephants were once used in the timber and logging industry, even during the time of the British Raj in the construction of the railway system, however we now have machines which can do the job, in a much more efficient manner and so Elephants are no longer used in these industries.
Most of Sri Lanka, the wildlife lovers, conservationists, activists and indeed the wildlife photographers who love capturing images of Sri Lanka's stunning tuskers, are reeling from the heart-breaking news of the killing of Revatha - one of the iconic tuskers of Kala Weva.
We express our deep regret over loss of life of another villager by a wild elephant attack in the Deegalaara area in Rathambalagama, Dahaiyagala on 04.03.2021.
WNPS is saddened by the news of the death of a farmer in Degalaara. He is yet another victim of Sri Lanka's ongoing Human-Elephant conflict. Sri Lanka has the highest human-elephant conflict in the world and sadly rather than enforce practical solutions to the problem, we are only making matters worse by engaging in more and more deforestation. Something we witnessed first hand during recent visits to the area.
Three Key Conservation Organizations of the Country, Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ) and the Federation of Environmental Organizations (FEO) got together to create one voice for the destruction against the environment and invited other like-minded organizations to join hands. The new coalition formed is called “Environmental Organizations Against Environmental Destruction” or EOAED for short. The country is facing unprecedented destruction of the environment never experienced before and as such forming a coalition of this nature to collectively mitigate the destruction is an important responsibility of all the organizations involved.
The workshop will engage in the power of art and storytelling to ignite conversation, the elements that make something spread on the internet, and what it takes to bring large-scale collaborations together.