Peraheras and elephants, both need to survive

The grand pageant of the hills, the Kandy Asela Perahera will come to an end for this year on 30 August with the final Randoli Perahera. The highlight and the main attraction, at least from a tourism perspective, is the number of decorated elephants that participate in this event. For years, the wellbeing of the animals that are used for the pageant, their treatment, and the lack of domesticated elephants to participate in the perahera, have been hot topics of discussion.

The Sri Dalada Maligawa’s Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela has told reporters there are only 94 elephants in the whole country who are able to participate in perahera processions, and about 60 of those elephants are more than the age of 50 or 60. He points put that in a matter of years there would hardly be a domesticated elephant population to ensure their continuous participation in what is touted as Sri Lanka’s most important cultural event.

As the number of domesticated elephants dwindle, their health and wellbeing should be of concern. These 100 or less animals are demanded by a number of religious places, including the Dalada Maligawa, and are transported throughout the country to take part in peraheras. Their treatment has come into severe criticism as a result.

The protection of the wild population of elephants hasn’t seen much success either. The Department of Wildlife Conservation recorded 151 elephant deaths in the first four months of the year, translating to at least one elephant death a day in the first quarter of 2023. Nearly half of them died due to human causes. The death toll, both human and elephant, from the human-elephant conflict hit a record high in 2022, with 145 people and 433 elephants killed.

The Sri Lankan elephant is a unique sub-species and is only one of three such sub-species of Asian elephants. Therefore, it has unique characteristics and DNA. This uniqueness should be a major factor in determining the conservation of this animal. Sri Lanka should immediately cease the practice of gifting elephants to other countries. Such gifts not only diminish the gene pool of the unique sub species but also endanger the elephants to mistreatment and cruelty in foreign zoos that may not be equipped to handle elephants.

Further the conservation efforts must make the elephants an umbrella species as protecting these animals will indirectly protect the many other species that make up the ecological community of its habitat. Further, the health and wellbeing of the animals used in the numerous peraheras including the grand pageant in Kandy should be ensured through constant monitoring and minimising the strain on the creatures.

A well-thought-out domestic breeding program for domestic elephants can be mooted, if it is done under the right conditions. While the cultural necessity for elephants in the pageants need not be ignored, this could be done in a humane manner, having the interest of the animal at the centre of the policy. Such a domestic breeding program that respects the genetic uniqueness of the Sri Lankan elephant sub-species could also ease the pressure on the wild populations which are suffering due to the illegal efforts at domestication.