Lessons to be learnt from death of Bhathiya, the wild elephant 

Bhathiya was sighted carrying several gunshot wounds – Pic credit: Saranga Deva de Alwis

Treatment being administered

On 15 July, the wild elephant known as Bhathiya succumbed to multiple injuries it had sustained in the wild. It had been shot at and wounded in early May. During early July, its injuries had worsened, and it had been treated by wildlife department veterinarians.

During this time, there was a media frenzy going on, with politicians ‘basking’ in the suffering that the poor animal was going through, armchair elephant SM experts giving advice and updates, and the wildlife officials scrambling to do damage control. It was almost like a choreographed social media performance that was being staged to a pathetic, gullible public, who were lapping up what was dished out with great interest.

The earth had hardly received the body of this gentle giant when social media began overflowing with emotional, knee-jerk, grandiose rhetoric. Slogans of ‘Return their land to them’ and ‘Save the Elephants’ resonate, and petitions are being prepared. The pathetic response from the ‘wise men’ in the Government is to bring more legislation – 19 new protected areas, ‘tightening’ laws related to shooting of elephants, new laws about setting up illegal electric fences, setting up an elephant hospital, etc.

Why can’t everyone understand that the problem is in the implementation, not in the legislation?

In Sri Lanka, killing (or injuring/harming) a wild elephant is explicitly classified as a non-bailable offence under the Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 2009. Here’s what the law states: Any offence involving an elephant under this act — including using electric wire or other devices to kill, injure an elephant — is punishable by a high fine and/or imprisonment.

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves,” — Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene II

Mark my words: in a few months, Bhathiya will be forgotten, and the media will move, like vultures, to another ‘carcass’ to feed on.

That is why we need to take a deeper look into the events that led to this magnificent animal’s death and what we can learn from it. What is required is not emotional outbursts but pragmatic solutions that can be quickly implemented to somehow mitigate this carnage.

Let’s not kid ourselves. This complex human-elephant conflict can never be fully eradicated. It can only be managed and mitigated by strategically and systemically implementing interventions to reduce the crisis selectively, in identified hot spots. Such interventions must be based on good applied scientific research, which is readily available.

Bhathiya’s injuries and eventual death 

Bhathiya was a full-grown male wild elephant with majestic tusks from the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. He was in the prime of his life and was probably around 30 years old, and was a popular figure among wildlife photographers.

He was known to periodically trespass into villages and carried many injuries as a result of gunshot wounds. Most villagers use locally made illegal firearms which shoot pellets rather than proper bullets. These pellets do not penetrate deep into an elephant’s skin unless they are fired at close range or hit a sensitive area where the skin is thin. They get embedded inside the skin and, although they may not cause any immediate threat, some of these wounds fester over time. This is mostly evident in the legs of elephants, which start swelling up, making it difficult for the animal to walk.

Bhathiya was no exception, and he carried his share of ‘pellets’ on his body. But, apparently, amidst these superficial injuries, there were one or two more serious ones which eventually became life-threatening.

The sequence of events 

(The following is based on careful analysis of the press conferences of the DWC and Dept. of Veterinary Science in Peradeniya, and other first-hand information received from sources.) 

• Bhathiya was sighted in early May carrying several gunshot wounds and a swollen left foreleg. It is on record that some concerned wildlife enthusiasts informed the DWC re this in early May.
• It was only on 19 May that the DWC veterinarians visited the animal and administered some treatment for gunshot injuries.
• There were reports that the elephant’s condition had deteriorated and a second visit was made by the veterinarians on 26 May.
• It appears that it was only on 26 May that a more intensive investigation was done by the DWC after tranquilising the elephant.
• The right foreleg had swelled up considerably and was reported to be about 1.5 m in circumference. Attempts to do an ultrasound scan were unsuccessful because of the extent of the swelling, but it appeared that the bones of the foreleg had been broken, with the elephant now being unable to walk. 
• Subsequently it was reported that the elephant had fallen three times and there was a festering wound near its left ear. Exactly when this injury has happened is not clear.
• This wound was serious and was apparently impacting the nervous system and muscle function, and the elephant could not coordinate the movements of its trunk. As a result, the elephant was unable to eat anything. 
• Realising that they now needed help, DWC wrote a letter to the Dept. of Veterinary Science in Peradeniya dated 10 June, requesting for support and advice.
• On 12 June, the Dept. of Veterinary Science wrote back saying that they will mobilise a team to check and treat the elephant. 
• Reports say that ‘treatment continued’ and on 4 July, both the DWC and university teams visited the scene to check on the condition of the elephant, who had now fallen on its left side in a shallow pool of water.
• The university team reported that the entire sole of the left foreleg had completely got dislodged. How this gruesome injury occurred is not clear, but deadly booby traps cannot be ruled out.
• More intensive treatment was started on 6 July in consultation with some foreign veterinarian experts.
• Since the elephant had been lying on its left side for several days now, it was decided to turn him over despite its delicate condition. With the use of specially designed slings and a bulldozer the elephant was turned over. Most of its skin on the left side, soaked in water and mud for several days, had completely peeled off, exposing more injuries on the left side 
• In the meantime, the foreign experts, after an on-line zoom meeting, suggested that they needed to come to Sri Lanka if they were to try and treat the elephant properly.
• Bureaucratic protocols of ‘letters of invitation’, foreign ministry approvals, work permits etc. had to be ‘negotiated’ and only on 14 July did the foreign experts arrive.
• The DWC officials and the experts left for the site early on 15 July but en-route they received information that the elephant had died. 

Issues to be noted

1.It appears that proper assessment of the seriousness of the injuries was not carried out early.

2.Consequently, proper intensive treatment may have been delayed. 

3.Considering the seriousness of the situation, the request for external help should have been expedited.

4.The bringing down of foreign experts also has had considerable bureaucratic hurdles to clear. 

5.In any event, by this time it was evident to the elephant would not recover from such traumatic injuries. 

Facts

1.Lack of acceptance that the Sri Lankan wild elephant is a national asset to be protected at all costs. 

2.The DWC is woefully short-staffed in the area of veterinary support with only 15 veterinarians on their staff.

3.Most of them are relatively young and do not have good practical field experience.

4.Treating wild elephants is a complex task and requires years of on-field experience under the apprenticeship of experts.

5.The DWC also lacks the necessary resources to respond quickly to treat wild animals in the field. 

6.Often some of the injuries elephants sustain are untreatable, and one can only wait until death releases them from suffering.

7.We profess to be a ‘Buddhist country’, but we do grievously harm to innocent animals, while euthanasia is forbidden. 

8.There is an alarming increase in injuries to wild elephants at the hands of villagers and poachers, with some areas showing a greater incidence of such altercations.

9.The HEC issue is quite complex to solve, and geographically wide-spread but with several identified hot spots. 

A pragmatic solution as a pilot project (to mitigate the problem in the short term only)

1.Establish a Presidential task force with all powers to administer and execute a pilot project (“Hastii Punajeevanay”) in a selected area where the HEC problem is serious (possibly the north-western province).

2.The task force will constantly monitor and direct all activities of the special units described below.

3.Undertake a quick baseline survey of all the areas where wild elephants are usually sighted, where altercations have taken place, past data of injuries and deaths, and farming locations. 

4.Prepare a data base of all iconic tuskers in the area who are known for crop raiding and closely and consistently monitor their movements (by word-of-mouth information supported by technology wherever possible e.g. radio collaring).

5.Set up two rapid response mobile veterinarian units dedicated to the area, on standby 24 x 7 hours, with fully equipped four-wheel drive vehicles with all necessary medical equipment, communication facilities etc.

6.These units will respond to all reports related to injuries to elephants in the area immediately.

7.Set up two or three enforcement units, supported by police, for constant patrolling of the province. 

8.They will systematically inspect villages for unlawful electric fencing and also conduct search operations for firearms and prosecute wrongdoers accordingly.

9.Immediately recruit at least 10 new veterinarians to the DWC.

10.Invite several foreign veterinarians with good practical expertise in wild elephant treatment to conduct a two-week field training program for the Sri Lankan veterinarians. 

Outcomes

1.Review after six months to ascertain if there is a reduction in incidents. 

2.If successful endeavour to roll out to other hot spots also.

3.Carefully record and review all interactions for future learnings.