311 elephants reported dead in 2018 - Wildlife department

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Wildlife Department notes that 311 elephants died within the first 10 months of 2018 as a result of the human-elephant conflict. The Department further noted that 95 people had lost their lives due to the same reason. It has also been revealed that most elephant deaths reported last year were a result of human activities. Among the elephant deaths reported, 48 were caused due to gunshot wounds, 37 incidents were due to electrocution, 16 elephants died due to train accidents. 29 elephants died due to other accidents, 55 of them died due to various human activities. Meanwhile, another 30 elephants died last year due to unidentified reasons. The elephant deaths reported from the period from 2013 to October 2018 are 1445. The 2017 statistics revealed that 256 elephants died due to various reasons.