By Rushika Rodrigo
Despite a dense human population of over 22 million, Sri Lanka is home to an estimated 4,400 elephants, which represent roughly 10% of the global total of Asian elephants in the wild.
With an increasing population of both of these species and crops expanding significantly, humans and elephants, shared habitats have become unavoidable, which in turn makes the Human-Elephant conflict inevitable.
Another study in 2010 says that the Department of Wildlife Conservation recognizes that about 70% of the elephants’ range lies outside the system of national parks and nature reserves.
A decade later, the consequences of this conflict are stark. A BBC report in 2020 revealed a grim statistic: 361 elephants died in the year 2019 and most were killed by people. In September 2019, officials said that they suspected seven elephants found dead in a reserve were poisoned by local residents for destroying crops.
Then a report from CENS in 2023 revealed that in 2020, Sri Lanka recorded 318 elephant deaths due to human-elephant conflict, with the number rising to 375 in 2021. This ongoing conflict between humans and elephants escalated further in 2022, making it one of the worst years on record, with 433 elephant deaths and 145 human fatalities.
The situation worsened in 2023, with 488 elephant deaths, and continued into 2024, when 388 wild elephants were reported dead. To give this some context, 78 wild elephant deaths from the Polonnaruwa Wildlife Zone, 53 from the Anuradhapura Wildlife Zone, and 43 from the Uva Wildlife Zone were reported.
A crisis of survival
Many of these deaths were caused by various accidents including poisoning, train accidents, road accidents, and elephants falling into wells used for cultivation. There were 84 elephant deaths from shootings, 56 from electrocution, and 52 from consuming ‘Hakka Patas’ or jaw bombs.
On the other hand, between 2019 and 2022, Sri Lanka saw a significant rise in human fatalities as a result of HEC. In 2019, 122 human deaths were reported, with the annual toll decreasing to an average of 112 in 2020. But, this number climbed to 142 fatalities in 2021, followed by 145 human deaths in 2022. In 2023, the number again spiked to 182 deaths, as noted in a 2025 study, while 2024 saw 155 human lives lost.
VOA News in a 2024 report said that between the years, 2015 and 2024, the deaths of nearly 1,195 people and 3,484 wild elephants were accounted for as consequences of this HEC problem. In January of 2025, 3 more people and 43 elephants were said to be killed.
These figures highlight not only the tragic loss of life of both humans and animals but also the immense economic toll of this escalating crisis. The disposal of the carcasses of wild elephants cost an approximate $11.6 million while compensation for the deaths of elephant attack victims was about $4 million over the same period.
Tragedy and toll
As human populations grow and elephant habitats shrink, elephants are eventually forced to raid crops, destroy property, and sometimes kill farmers, putting entire farming communities at risk.
In such areas, not only farmers but also their families were reported trampled to death by elephants. When farms and crops are nested by plants and trees elephants love to feast and farmers clear forests and expand their crops continuously, it is an unavoidable circumstance that they are constantly intruded on by elephants.
On the other hand, a study done in 2021 mentions that Sri Lanka has consistently recorded more than 200 elephant killings a year for the past 3 years even though elephant killing is considered a criminal offense in Sri Lanka.
Moreover, though Sri Lanka allows electric fences to keep these animals away, the suffering it causes them is unfathomable. Yet, Sri Lanka has 5, 000 km (3, 100 miles) of electric fencing mitigating the survival of elephants and reinforcing the act of killing them. One unfortunate instance of this is when one of Sri Lanka’s largest tusker elephants, Deega Danthu was reported dead after being fatally entangled in an illegal electric fence at the Kalawewa National Park.
This is the harsh reality that proves this conflict to be ever-escalating.
The most recent incident witnessing this conflict happened on Feb 20th, 2025 near Minneriya where a passenger train collided with a herd of elephants in Sri Lanka killing six of them. General Manager of Railways, Dhammika Jayasundara speaking to the Daily Morning outlined a series of measures aimed at preventing such devastating incidents in the future.
“First, we will introduce technological equipment to help detect and prevent such incidents. Secondly, we will clear both sides of the tracks to allow elephants to move freely and avoid getting trapped. Additionally, we will launch an awareness program for department employees to educate them on how to handle these situations. Ensuring good visibility for train drivers and well-functioning brakes can also help prevent accidents; so, we will deploy trains best suited for these conditions,” he explained.
Steps towards coexistence
The solutions to this matter are in the hands of every individual as well as the government of Sri Lanka which requires a more collective approach and, in this case, struggles faced by both species should be brought to attention.
In response to this multifaceted conflict, people, in general, can follow an action plan where they initiate safe and sustainable agricultural practices, protect elephant habitats, build safer elephant corridors where they can travel back and forth between habitats, construct well-planned development projects without disrupting elephant migration routes, utilize natural deterrents such as beehive fences and chili fences to keep elephants away from rural communities.
However, these commitments are not enough and feasible without the contribution of the government to this matter. With regard to train-elephant collisions, responsible departments such as Wildlife Conservation can revise train schedules for times elephants are not traveling between habitats.
To encourage the implementation of all these actions, a public consultation should also be conducted where people can spread awareness on this matter which is a must to mitigate this matter. (Newswire)