Seven Young Elephants Drown in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Wildlife Authority discovered seven carcasses of young elephants believed to have drowned following seasonal floods in the eastern part of the country, according to a local official. The official stated, "Villagers reported three young elephants drowning last night, but when we went to this marshy area, we found four more." The seven carcasses will undergo an autopsy on Monday, but initial investigation findings suggest that the animals got stuck in the marsh and drowned after their habitat in Dimbulagala, about 250 kilometers northeast of the capital Colombo, experienced heavy seasonal rainfall. In 2019, seven wild elephants were found dead in a district in northern central Sri Lanka. The previous year, in 2018, seven other elephants drowned in an area not far from Dimbulagala. Sri Lanka is home to just over 7,000 wild elephants, according to the latest official figures.