Popular 'Walawe Kota' dwarf elephant missing from Udawalawe ?

COLOMBO (News 1st); The world famous dwarf elephant in Sri Lanka, fondly named ''Walawe Kota'' is believed to have gone missing.

Concerns are mounting as NO information regarding the elephant was recorded since last year.

The dwarf elephant, which inhabits the Udawalawe National Park, was first spotted in 2013.

Although the legs were short due to genetic mutations, the animal grew well into an adult in its proportions.

Although Walawe Kota has been described as the only dwarf elephant in Sri Lanka, it became a half-truth in 2018, when that same year, a female dwarf elephant was also recorded on a surveillance camera.

Researchers believe that the two animals traveled in the same direction, however that is now uncertain.

Usually, "Walawe Kota'' can be seen at the Udawalawe National Park borders between March and July.

The elephant then travels to the Lunugamwehere Park through the Wetahirakanda Elephant Pass before heading to Meegahajadura.

Wild Elephant researcher Sameera Weeratunga stated that the elephant has not been seen since the end of 2020, and that they are suspecting whether the elephant faced any problems in its travelling route.

There are several other issues to suspect that, as "Walawe Kota" showed scars on its body that can be suspected as gun shot injuries.

The Custodian of the Udawalawe National Park, R.G.R.S. Ranatunga said that wild elephants move around a lot, and believes the elephants can be seen back in the Udawalawa National Park.

There are concerns mounting as to whether there was any intervention to force change the movement patterns of wild elephants.

More attention should be paid to the fact that the world famous dwarf elephant has not been seen for more than a year due to the suspicious incidents that have been reported in the Udawalawe National Park in recent days.

On November 10th, a baby elephant was found tied up in this very National Park. And although this baby elephant was rescued, it was suspected that the GPS collar of the elephant belonged to another baby elephant.

The reason for this was that the captive baby elephant turning out to be one who was released from the Udawalawe Elephant Sanctuary and no such collar being attached to the animal at the time.

Is it not the responsibility of the authorities to look into these two unique creatures without waiting for them to return until next March?