Sad footage: elephants eating garbage in Sri Lanka (13 photos)

These sad images show elephants in Sri Lanka desperately raking through garbage in search of food. Photographer Damit Danthanarayana captured the images in Ampara locality, where trash surrounds picturesque forests.





Photographer Damith Danthanarayana took these shocking images in the Ampara district of Sri Lanka. There, among the garbage heaps surrounding the picturesque forests, hungry elephants rummaged through the garbage in an attempt to find at least some food. Along with food waste, elephants ate plastic and other garbage, which can cause significant harm to their health. In addition, the proximity of elephants to local residents also causes inconvenience: they eat crops.



“During a walk, we met a small elephant calf injured by homemade explosives. Such conflicts between animals and people once again indicate how important it is to protect nature and properly dispose of waste. Urgent measures must be taken to protect wildlife and the local population,” writes the photographer.

In 2017, the Sri Lankan authorities already prohibited local residents from throwing garbage in open spaces near nature reserves in order to wean elephants from eating waste. The government has ordered electric fencing around the landfills, but it appears that this has not been enough.



In Sri Lanka, elephants are protected by law and are also revered in Buddhism, the state's main religion. The wild elephant population in Sri Lanka is now around 7,000.