GALGAMUWA, Sri Lanka – Clad in his khaki wildlife officer’s uniform, Dewagiri Mudiyanselage Thilakaratne Bandara rides his motorbike the short distance from his home to the electric fence that is the main line of defense against the dozens of wild elephants that live in the rapidly shrinking forest nearby. The fence stretches 14 kilometers along the Siyambalangamuwa tank, a reservoir in the island’s northwest, to protect the more than 2,000 families who live in the nearby villages. Galgamuwa is on the front line of one of the world’s most serious human-elephant conflicts.
An average of 138 people have been killed in encounters with the animals each year in Sri Lanka since 2019, the second-highest death toll in the world. The death toll for elephants, forced into villages for food as their habitat shrinks, climbed to an average of 402 a year during the same period, the world’s highest. Now, in the nights, the elephants come to see us.” Sri Lankans have deep cultural ties with elephants.
The animals feature in colorful temple pageants, and owning one is a status symbol. Elephants are also a mainstay of the island’s $4 billion tourism industry. But elephant deaths reached a record high of 488 in 2023, according to the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).
Data shows dozens were shot as they encroached on villages, while others died from poisoning, electrocution, in train accidents or after falling into wells. Bandara, 48, has first-hand experience of how devastating the human-elephant conflict can be. Last December, an elephant wandered into Bandara’s backyard to snack on mangoes.
He attacked Bandara and his wife, Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Shirani Rathnayake, after she rushed to help him. Bandara was left with a broken leg and dislocated shoulder. Rathnayake, also 48, was trampled and had to have her right leg amputated.
She now uses a wheelchair. My wife and I used to do everything together. We used to farm together.
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