Popular among wildlife photographers as Kavantissa Gajaba and among the villagers as the Great Elephant, Kandula is the tallest tusker in Sri Lanka at present.This elephant is about 1 ½ – 2 feet tall, about the height of an average elephant, and has a pair of tusks that are just as beautiful and glorious as its height.At present, the king’s habitat is in close proximity to human habitations.
This is the life of King Kavantissa who lived a miserable life, hiding only during the day and searching for food only at night, hiding in the remnants of lakes and chenas in the now inhabited areas of the forest, which was once a forest famous for its huge wild elephants. When faced with a dangerous situation.
It is our own people who have destroyed the forests where they lived and established their settlements and deprived these elephant kingdoms of shelter as well as finding food for the hungry.It should be kept in mind that this situation has arisen due to the activities of our own people.There is nothing wrong with clearing large forests, cutting down and destroying russet trees and establishing settlements in them, and then finding it normal for elephants to find food or to roam where there is no forest.
In the past, this elephant has spent time hiding in a forest area near a farm in the area and a farm in the forest area.However, sources say that steps are being taken to clear the forest areas around the farm and prevent elephants from entering.
About a month ago, several elephants, including Kavantissa, used a small bush near a lake as their hiding place.Situated between a lake and a haystack, this jungle is about 5 acres in size and one wonders if even one elephant could hide in a herd of elephants.However, the group of 6-7 elephants, the tallest elephant in Sri Lanka, has been living in the jungle for about a month and part of the jungle has been submerged due to the heavy rains.
As darkness falls, they rush out of the forest to find something to eat.They visit the village gardens and the huts around the lake, but they do not receive a warm welcome.Sometimes it’s a hailstorm and other times it’s a cacophony.They have no choice but to fill their big bellies and have to look for their hiding place before sunset.
Despite living such a difficult life, it has not been reported that this elephant king Kavantissa has done any harm to human life so far.Many villagers in the Athraju area also have a lot of respect for this very peaceful life.But we can not expect everyone to be like that.
Some non-humans who are greedy for ivory among humans may try to kill this mammoth, or mark the elephant’s core with a shot fired to chase away the elephant.Also, at night and in the early hours of the morning, these elephants can fall prey to unsafe power lines during hasty trips with the innocent intention of filling their stomachs.Many elephants in our country have faced such fates and it is really worthwhile to do what needs to be done to protect these elephant kings while they are alive rather than grieving after they die.
It is a matter of great concern that even in a country where the Nedumgamuwe Raja Elephant carrying the Tooth Relic is given military protection, such a national resource is not given due attention by the Department of Wildlife except for military protection.The Department of Wildlife should take immediate action to bring this giant tusked elephant king, the tallest living elephant in Sri Lanka, to the forefront, and our country will have the opportunity to save a very valuable resource if it is able to organize a program to educate the locals about these valuable tusks or to put them into action. has.
If there is something that can attract the attention of all wildlife photographers as well as wildlife lovers, it should be done immediately and we consider it your responsibility and duty to protect this elephant king.
This is based on information circulated on social media.Also is this fact true? It is the responsibility of the competent authorities to find out whether it is false or not.
