Dumbos of the dump: Heartbreaking footage shows elephants scavenging through rubbish in Sri Lanka – accidentally consuming plastic and chemical waste as they search for food
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Heartbreaking footage shows elephants scavenging through rubbish in Sri Lanka after being torn from their habitat in search of food.
They accidentally consume plastic and waste from the mountains of waste around Sri Lanka’s forests, endangering their lives. The mammals’ greater proximity to local populations also causes conflict with the danger they pose to local villagers by eating crops.
Photographer Damith Danthanarayana captured these shocking images of a herd of elephants in Ampara, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.
He said: ‘During our exploration we came across a small elephant that had been injured by a homemade explosive. Conflicts between elephants and humans highlight the need for conservation and good waste management. Immediate action is crucial to protect both nature and local communities.”
Elephants eating from the dump have been a problem in the city in the past Sri Lanka banned open dumping of waste near nature reserves in 2017 to discourage elephants from foraging for rotting food scraps.
The government has ordered electric fences to be installed around the dumps, but this appears to have been insufficient to keep the animals at bay.
Elephants are revered in Buddhism, the majority religion in Sri Lanka, and are protected by law. The wild elephant population in Sri Lanka is estimated at around 7,000, as well as 200 domestic elephants living in the country.
This photo captures the heartbreaking reality of elephants’ lives as they rummage through rubbish in Sri Lanka
You can see the herd of elephants searching through the piles of rubbish as they search for food
The elephants accidentally consume plastic and chemical waste, which poses a serious threat to their lives
In their search for food they are accompanied by stray dogs, who also rummage through the waste piles in the hope of finding something edible.
The mammals are taken from their habitat in search of food in the waste around the forests in the eastern part of Sri Lanka
Photographer Damith Danthanarayana captured these shocking images in Ampara, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
The photographer said: ‘During our exploration we came across a small elephant injured by a homemade explosive device’
Danthanarayana said, “Conflicts between elephants and humans highlight the need for wildlife conservation and proper waste management. Immediate action is crucial to protect both wildlife and local communities
The herd of elephants is not the only one looking for food in the waste, dogs and birds also pick away at the piles of waste
The elephants’ greater proximity to local people also causes conflict with the danger they pose to local villagers by eating crops and attacking people when they feel threatened.
The elephants’ natural habitat is shrinking and they are forced to resort to eating garbage to survive
In the heartbreaking photos taken in Sri Lanka, you can see the elephants stuffing waste into their mouths