Sept 12, Colombo: The Wildlife Department office of the Trincomalee district of the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka announced that 40 wild elephants were killed so far in this year in Trincomalee district alone.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent Sigiriya area Wildlife officers and villagers were working round the clock to rescue two wild elephants that had fallen into a cultivation well near Indugaswewa on Monday night.

Sri Lanka’s elephant population numbering around 3000 is facing rapid extinction due to manmade disasters. The Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Champika Ranwaka recently said that the Ministry needs Rs. 10 billion per year for the management of wild elephants in the country. However, the Ministry receives only Rs. 3 billion for all its work, the Minister says.