A wild elephant has died due to gunshot injuries in the Mahawala area of Ududumbara, bordering the Dumbara forest reserve. It has been reported that the deceased was a fully grown male elephant in good health. The killing of mature male elephants in these regions poses a serious threat to their population survival.
Meanwhile, in the Vilachchiya area, a baby elephant died yesterday after falling into an agricultural well. Both the calf and its mother had fallen into the well, but while the mother was rescued, the calf had already died, having been trapped for several days. Such incidents continue to cause unnecessary elephant deaths.