The last stand of the Tuskers of Sri Lanka

 What is a tusker and why are they so special in Sri Lanka? This is a question many people asked me over the years. The truth is that no only the fact that only 7% of the male elephants in Sri Lanka carries tusks, which makes them so rare and special, but the aura and behavior of a tusker are so much more special. They are the true monarchs of the wilds of Lanka. When a tusker comes out into the open and joins a grazing herd of elephants, you feel his presence. They are the “rockstars” of elephant society. The most desirable male for receptive females to mate with, the most intimidating rival for other male elephants.

The tale of tuskers of Sri Lanka can date back several thousand years. The mainland of Asia once connected to our island via a land bridge has its own sub-species of elephants. Historically scientific evidence states that 97% of males are supposed to carry ivory. Hence it was the norm in the Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) males to have tusks. Then the question arises what happened to Sri Lanka? Why is there less than 7% of the male population having this genetic trait? There are several theories being debated among scientists and pundits alike.

The most logical explanation for this is that through thousands of years, starting from our kings of old, the best tuskers the prime bulls of any herd were targeted for domestication, and even to import. Ancient texts state that Sri Lanka “exported” elephants to other countries, due to the fact that Sri Lankan elephants were prized for their size and strength. Thereafter the three colonizers, the Portuguese, Dutch, and finally the English managed to systematically target and decimate the existing population. The first targets of any hunt were the tuskers, the prime breeding bulls of elephant society.

Within a few hundred years, we are left with a dwindling populace of these once mighty specimens. Estimates can round up the current population of wild tuskers at around 120-180 animals at most. That being said this number is being reduced every year.

Though poaching is an imminent threat and many tuskers did fall to the guns of the poacher, the primary culprit for the decimation of tuskers and elephants, in general, is habitat loss and the human-elephant conflict that results from this.

There is an estimated 6000 plus elephants on the island as per the last census carried out in 2011. Sri Lanka also is shamed to have the largest number of elephant deaths for 2020, with a staggering 318, and a shocking 407 in 2019. This would easily outnumber the number of new elephant births, and also the death toll needs to add the numbers which are not recorded, and hence we have a scenario where the overall populace is facing a gradual reduction. The lack of viable habitats for these giants and the current lack of a credible wildlife management policy will result in mass starvations and a sudden plummet in numbers in the coming years.

There are plans and talks underway to “conveniently” drive all the elephants outside national parks to the said parks, be it Wilpattu or Udawalawe or sanctuaries like Kahallapallekele and lock the elephants up so they can escape. This naïve and impractical move has been discussed by many of those in power for countless regimes without a proper understanding of the elephant's actual requirements and needs.

1-      Each land area has an ideal carrying capacity for elephants. The common misconception most laymen (who are virtually most of the policymakers and whose in power) is that there are many trees in the forest hence why can't they eat the trees. The reality is that elephants require a vast range of disturbed forest and grazing land. This is the only way it can sustain a 3-5 Ton animal. Elephants eat up to 150 KG of vegetation daily, and densely forested areas cannot provide enough nutrients, especially for a sudden surge of more elephants pushed there with an elephant drive. The classic case of such a disaster was in Lunugamvehera in 2006. The Department of Wildlife Conservation drove around 260 elephants into the Lunugamvehera National Park. The tragic result is that most of them, mainly the females and calves died of starvation. Thus we are about to face such a disastrous move very soon as per the current directive it seems the policymakers are about to drive a mass extinction of elephant using the “Elephant Drive” ploy.

2-      Vital migration paths such as the Dahaiyagala Sanctuary have been cleared and given to people for agriculture. The current state of the elephants in Udawalawe , which is a vital Tourism attraction is that they are unable or hindered to move out of the park to their traditional regions such as Bogahapattiya due to this. Further adding to their suffering the growth of an invasive plant known as Lantana or Gandhapana in Sinhalese (which the elephant doesn’t eat) have resulted in emaciated and malnourished elephants in the park. With quite a few deaths of newborn calves. Udawalawe generates much-needed revenue and employment to many people in the region and yet there seems to be no interest by the powers that be to look into this situation.

3-      One of the regions with the highest density of tuskers in Sri Lanka is the Galgamuwa region. Despite being home to over 350 elephants, there are no large national parks or sanctuaries nearby. For many years the elephants survived by moving from small forest patch to forest patch , and continuously being harassed and in conflict with local villagers and their cultivations. Many notable tuskers emerged from this region, out of which two exceptional individuals the SIyambalangamuwa Tusker also known as Parakrama died due to a failed attempt to translocate him and the other is the Dala Puttuwa or Crossed Tusker who fell to the poacher's bullet. Both their lives ended tragically, and many surviving tuskers carry the scars of their turbulent lives in festering gunshot wounds all across their body.

The latest debacle faced by the elephants of Galgamuwa is the clearing of forest land in Nakolagane bordering the Palukadawala Reservoir. This is the last refuge remaining for these 350 plus elephants in this entire region. Mostly spending several months in the forest and coming to the lakeshore to graze and drink water. The Chief priest of Nakolagane Rajamaha Viharaya is carrying out a project destroying the forest using bulldozers and using this forest land to grow traditional rice varieties.

This disastrous move will not only deny the elephants a place of refuge but will also increase the conflicts will the villagers as the elephants will invariably move into human cultivations and homes as their habitat is destroyed.

It is shameful that despite the teachings of Buddhism preaches kindness and care to all life forms that those who claim to be representatives of the faith are destroying the very fundamentals of the said philosophy.

If the citizens of Sri Lanka from villagers to urban folk don’t band together and demand a workable solution to this eternal conflict and destruction of forest habitat, this massive Ecocide will have ripple effects that will affect this island nation for generations to come.