On the front line of human–elephant conflict in Sri Lanka’s rural central province, Kurunegala—

Since the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009 the country's native Asian elephant population has been steadily growing. So too, has the development of previously uncultivated jungle and scrubland in rural areas, leading to increasing levels of conflict between these communities and the elephants they share the land with.  

Villages in the region report nightly raids by herds of elephants—normally on crops and sometimes homes. With most of these communities relying on subsistence agriculture to get by, the destruction of a farmer's growing season worth of crops has very real economic consequences. 

The response by many of these farmers is deterrence by violent means. Guns, traps and government subsidised heavy-duty fireworks are not uncommon. More harrowing methods include the hukka patta—where a coconut is filled with gunpowder that the elephant bites down on, causing a small blast in their mouth. The injury is not sufficient to kill the animal outright, but will destroy much of their palette and elephants who fall victim to this practice will succumb to starvation over a period of time, unless rescued by one of the conservationist groups operating in the region and taken for rehabilitation. 

What are the solutions? 

Using these violent deterrence methods—bar firecrackers—is illegal, and over time ineffective. Elephants are intelligent and quickly learn that the loud noises do not equate to actual harm. Injury will deter them, but they are desperate—particularly SINBADs (single income no baby absolutely desperate). Asian elephants need to forage a substantial volume of vegetation each day and do this typically by roaming over vast areas. Agricultural development is encroaching on their seasonal roaming patterns—and to date the Sri Lankan government's policy response has not been informed by conservation best practice (see subsidised firecrackers). 

Thankfully, conservation biology does have a solution that is evidence-based. Historically, it's been assumed that elephants don't use scrubland for foraging and so agricultural fences were erected along the boundary between scrub and jungle. The problem is that elephants do use scrub—a great deal. And they don't tend to recognise the arbitrary boundaries that humans create. Inevitably crashing through fences and then having easy access to crops and houses. 

The alternative?  Dr Sumith Pilapitiya, elephant researcher and ex-Director of Sri Lanka's Department for Wildlife, believes that it's relatively simple: erect the fences around the communities themselves, not the jungle. This method is being trialled in hotspots and results are promising. However, it's yet to be determined whether the political will exists to roll this approach out in hotspots nationwide. 


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