Every nation gets a blessing that others do not. For Sri Lanka, this blessing is its native Sri Lankan elephants. You cannot see these elephants in any other place all over the world. But in the recent past, the population of Sri Lankan elephants drastically decreased due to various reasons including hunting, poaching, destruction of habitat, etc.
Now, these elephants are listed among the endangered species and Sri Lanka needs to protect the remaining elephant individuals in order to regain the population. But why does Sri Lanka even need elephants? What is the importance of this giant animal to the country?
Well, elephants for Sri Lanka hold symbolic, economic, and cultural importance. Tourists from all over the world travel to see these pink-patched elephants and promote tourism in the country. Although these elephants can be conserved in National parks and zoos, these places cause them more exploitation than providing a home-like environment. Thus the most suitable habitat for elephants is forested.
But there’s a problem for elephants in forests – deforestation due to civilization, and uncontrolled hunting and poaching. However, to overcome this problem, the wildlife department of Sri Lanka has taken positive steps toward the conservation and protection of elephants.
As you can see here, the wildlife team is much dedicated to helping these gentle giants in trouble. This elephant is sick and needs urgent treatment, though the wildlife team is on it.
Elephants are susceptible to numerous diseases, however, regular vaccination may keep them at bay. In Sri Lanka, the domestic elephants as well as those kept in the National parks and Zoological gardens are immunized annually for the most common diseases including tetanus and rabies. But wild elephants cannot be immunized in such a way – that too regularly.
But the dedication of the wildlife department of Sri Lanka towards the preservation of this precious wealth ensures that they will find a way forward to this problem soon. Just like in this video, whenever the team is informed of any elephant in trouble, they approach it as soon as possible and ensure that it gets proper treatment and gets back to its home and family safe and sound.
Hats off to such supportive humans!
