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Ali wali–Only about 11 tame elephants will be left by 2040
View(s):- Diyawadana Nilame says people should be encouraged to breed tamed elephants, precarious situation if immediate, effective measures are not taken
- Wildlife Department tells Government to send the elephants to Pinnawala Orphanage for breeding
- Environmental conservationists raise ethical and practical challenges
By Jayanie Madawala
The lack of domesticated elephants has trumpeted a debate over the lack of domesticated elephants for what is regarded as one of the most spectacular pageants in Asia, the Kandy Esala perahera and other peraheras.
The Sri Dalada Maligawa’s Diyawadana Nilame Pradeep Nilanga Dela said only 94 elephants in the whole country were allowed to participate in perahera processions, and about 60 of those elephants were more than the age of 50 or 60.
He said this was critical issue as it was an important part of our culture. He warned that as a result of not receiving tamed elephants, the elephant count could be reduced to about 11 by 2040.
Therefore, measures should be taken to encourage people to breed tamed elephants, he said.
He also pointed out that because there were few or no female elephants of breeding age, little or no breeding could take place at present. The country would be in a precarious situation if long and short-term elephant breeding programmes were not carried out immediately and effectively.
The Diyawadana Nilame said this would be a difficult task because few if any other countries used domesticated elephants for peraheras.
He said even while we held ourselves accountable for imposing numerous ideals on our society, we were unable to offer ourselves the chance to alter the national culture. The deployment of these trained elephants was crucial for that.
Pradeep Miyanapalawa, officer of the administrative wing of the Perahera office, outlined the role and task of the “ath panthiya.” At present we own two tuskers as per ancient tradition, this spectacular procession must have at least three tuskers.
Mr. Miyanapalawa said if the main tusker showed any sign of illness during the procession there would be a need for another tusker to carry out the possession. Devoted mahouts take good care of their tuskers. These tuskers and mahouts in Kandy were carrying on an important cultural and religious tradition that was an important part of Sri Lankan culture.
The taming of elephants in Sri Lanka dated back centuries. Elephants used for religious purposes during the early periods were mostly State elephants belonging to the king. Due to the current situation the government should take more concern regarding the care of these elephants, he said.
Maintaining an elephant was a difficult and expensive task, which required commitments and resources to own an elephant.
In the early days, elephants engaged in the Perahera activity were from Kandy, but currently due to the shortage of elephants we had to get elephants from around the country. The elephant’s physical health was considered when contributing to the perahera, as they are majestic animals, he said.
Waruna Kannangara of Moragahahena in Horana said he belonged to the fourth generation of a traditional elephant owning family and now he had three elephants.
“I now have three elephants, whereas my father owned 13. On the grounds they were held without proper documentation and some of them were illegally captured from the wilds. Wildlife activists and environmentalists have expressed concern about returning elephants back to the owners from whom they were seized a few years ago,” he said.
The Wildlife and Conservation Department takes strict action against anyone who without a licence kept elephants as domestic animals.
A department official said they had asked the authorities to let the elephants go, to save the next generation. Capturing wild elephants was not something the department could suggest as it was not an ethical solution.
As a result the department could suggest for the government to send our elephants to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage for the breeding process. The department could contribute to the food expenses and keep its mahouts there, but could not bear the costs of maintaining the orphanage.
The department official said captive breeding was a useful technique to make up for a shortage of tamed elephants. He said 50 elephant births had taken place at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage since 1975, demonstrating the facility’s success in captive breeding. Although the country had the technical know-how to help elephant conservation, he said it was not being done successfully.
In Pinnawala despite the herd of elephants visible to tourists there were other elephants inside the orphanage. The department suggested releasing them to individuals or temples which had space and the financial stability to look after those elephants. Later the elephants could be used for peraheras.
he said in some instances there were animals who were exposed to ‘hakka patas’ or jaw bombs and they got injured.
“The existence of such a large captive population of this endangered, intelligent, and long-living animal poses a number of ethical and practical challenges,” Environment Conservation Trust (ECT) President Sanjeewa Chamikara said.
The domesticated elephant population was being used for various purposes such as cultural pageants and peraheras carrying caskets.
However, the use of elephants for commercial gain was more common than for religious or cultural purposes. Influential people also employed them as emblems of social prestige, Mr. Chamikara said.
“I truly oppose the idea of taming elephants in Sri Lanka, because it is an ecological issue. Elephants are important for the health of tropical ecosystems. The ecosystem is not something we can interfere with. It is something that naturally exist,” he said.
Many argue that killing chickens or cattle was something different. Elephants were a part of the natural ecosystem. If we were going to tame them and engage them in our process it had a direct impact on that ecosystem.
Mr Chamikara charged that even though this was established as a cultural factor, with capitalism and the neo-liberalism, it had become commercialised. Many temples were conducting peraheras. Beyond the cultural aspect this had become commercialised.
A lot of money had been spent and elephants were depicted as a marketing tool in these pageants. The natural population balance was disrupted and the natural system was also damaged. They made pathways in dense forested habitats that allowed passage for other animals. They were major contributors of dry zones. The whole agriculture system was based on this. To conserve elephants the forests were declared as a national asset.
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