Latest news with #Colombo
Malay Mail
a day ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Tragic turn: Three elephants found dead one day after six were released in Sri Lanka's wild
COLOMBO, July 18 — At least three wild elephants were found dead across Sri Lanka on Friday, officials said, a day after six young rescued elephants were returned to the jungle under a conservation drive. Wildlife officials said one elephant was run over by a passenger train in the island's northeast, while two others were found shot dead in the central and eastern regions. Elephants are protected by law and considered sacred due to their significance in Buddhist culture, but farmers often kill them to protect their crops. Human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka has resulted in the deaths of nearly 200 elephants and 55 people so far this year. 'We have launched investigations into the shootings of the two elephants, it looks like the work of local farmers,' a police spokesman in the capital Colombo said. The train accident occurred in Gallella, the same area where seven elephants were killed by a locomotive in February, the worst incident of its kind in Sri Lanka. It happened despite speed limits on trains passing through elephant-inhabited forest areas. A Sri Lanka railway official said an 'internal investigation has been launched to establish if the driver had violated the speed limit'. Wildlife authorities released six elephants, aged between five and seven, back into the jungle on Thursday after rehabilitating them under a conservation programme that began in 1998. The Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe, about 210 kilometres southeast of Colombo, cares for rescued animals and eventually returns them to the wild. The sanctuary is a major tourist attraction and holds 57 elephants that had been abandoned, injured, or separated from their herds. Sri Lankan authorities believe the transit home's strategy of rewilding rescued elephants, rather than domesticating them, has been successful. The home has returned 187 elephants to the wild since 1998. Conservation efforts have become increasingly urgent due to the escalating conflict between wild elephants and farmers. Official figures from Sri Lanka's wildlife department show that 4,835 elephants and 1,601 people have been killed in the worsening conflict since 2010. — AFP
France 24
a day ago
- General
- France 24
Three Sri Lankan elephants killed in blow to conservation efforts
Wildlife officials said one elephant was run over by a passenger train in the island's northeast, while two others were found shot dead in the central and eastern regions. Elephants are protected by law and considered sacred due to their significance in Buddhist culture, but farmers often kill them to protect their crops. Human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka has resulted in the deaths of nearly 200 elephants and 55 people so far this year. "We have launched investigations into the shootings of the two elephants, it looks like the work of local farmers," a police spokesman in the capital Colombo said. The train accident occurred in Gallella, the same area where seven elephants were killed by a locomotive in February, the worst incident of its kind in Sri Lanka. It happened despite speed limits on trains passing through elephant-inhabited forest areas. A Sri Lanka railway official said an "internal investigation has been launched to establish if the driver had violated the speed limit". Wildlife authorities released six elephants, aged between five and seven, back into the jungle on Thursday after rehabilitating them under a conservation programme that began in 1998. The Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe, about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Colombo, cares for rescued animals and eventually returns them to the wild. The sanctuary is a major tourist attraction and holds 57 elephants that had been abandoned, injured, or separated from their herds. Sri Lankan authorities believe the transit home's strategy of rewilding rescued elephants, rather than domesticating them, has been successful. The home has returned 187 elephants to the wild since 1998. Conservation efforts have become increasingly urgent due to the escalating conflict between wild elephants and farmers. Official figures from Sri Lanka's wildlife department show that 4,835 elephants and 1,601 people have been killed in the worsening conflict since 2010.
France 24
2 days ago
- General
- France 24
Sri Lanka returns orphaned elephants to the jungle
Two females and four males, aged between five and seven, were released into the Mau Ara forest within the Udawalawe Wildlife Sanctuary, environment minister Dammika Patabendi told AFP. He said it was the 26th such release of rehabilitated elephants since the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home began its programme in 1998. "We hope, in the interest of conserving elephants, we will be able to improve facilities at this transit home in the near future," Patabendi said. The calves were transported in trucks and then allowed to walk free because they were deemed strong enough to fend for themselves or join wild herds. Baby elephants have minimal contact with humans at the transit home to ease their integration into wild herds. All elephants at the facility were rescued after being found abandoned, injured or separated from their herds. Udawalawe, about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Colombo, is renowned for its wild elephants and is a major tourist attraction. Sri Lankan authorities believe the transit home's strategy of rewilding rescued elephants, rather than domesticating them, has paid off. The centre's director, Malaka Abeywardana, said 57 elephants remain at the facility, which has released 187 back into the wild since the first release in early 1998. Sri Lanka had previously sent rescued calves to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, which has also become a popular tourist site. The Pinnawala orphanage marked its golden jubilee in February. Conservation efforts have become increasingly urgent due to growing conflict between wild elephants and farmers. The human-elephant conflict has resulted in the deaths of around 400 elephants and 200 people annually over the past five years. © 2025 AFP
Times of Oman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Times of Oman
"I had planned that he will be my first name in the line-up at this venue": Bangladesh captain Litton Das on Mahendi Hasan for Colombo T20I
Colombo: Bangladesh captain Litton Das had earmarked spinner Mahedi Hasan for the third T20I at the R Premadasa Stadium against Sri Lanka when he first saw their tour schedule. A four-wicket haul by Mahendi Hasan and a blistering half-century by Tanzid Hasan helped Bangladesh complete a series win, defeating Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third T20I on Wednesday. With this win, Bangladesh has won the T20I series by 2-1, following losses in the Test and ODI series. "We felt that Mahedi's skills would be a perfect fit for the Colombo wicket. It doesn't mean he doesn't bowl well on other wickets. I had planned it as soon as I saw the schedule that Mahedi will be my first name in the line-up at this venue. It also doesn't mean that Mehidy [Hasan Miraz] is not a good bowler or batter. As a team leader, I will think deeply about the surface before choosing a team. A bowling-friendly surface will always make me pick Mahedi. If it is batting-friendly, Miraz will come back into the team," Litton Das said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. Mahedi delivered a fiery spell in the powerplay, as Sri Lanka was reduced to 49/4 in 7.4 overs. Mahedi completed his four-wicket haul by removing a set Pathum Nissanka (46 in 39 balls, with four fours), reducing SL to 66/5. Reflecting on his performance, Hasan said the ball was spinning in the last two games, so I stuck to my lines and lengths. "I know the wickets in Sri Lanka, the ball was spinning in the last two games, so I stuck to my lines and lengths. The new ball had a bit of spin, so I tried to land it in good areas, and luckily, I was successful," Mahedi Hasan said. Coming to the match, Kamindu Mendis (21 in 15 balls, with a four and a six) and Dasun Shanaka (35* in 25 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) delivered some useful contributions, taking SL to 132/7 in their 20 overs. With one wicket each, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, and Shamim Hossain were also among the wickets. During the run-chase of 133 runs, Bangladesh lost Parvez Hossain Emon for a duck, but Tanzid Hasan (73* in 47 balls, with a four and six sixes) delivered a brutal counter-attack, along with skipper Litton Das (32* in 26 balls, with two fours and a six), forming a 74-run partnership. Tanzid stuck around till the end, along with Towhid Hridoy (27* in 25 balls, with a four and six) took their team to a win with 21 balls left.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Proud' Litton lauds Bangladesh's T20 triumph in Sri Lanka
Bangladesh skipper Litton Das says his team's first ever T20 series win in Sri Lanka has been "huge" for his leadership and made the cricket-crazy fans back home happy. Bangladesh hammered Sri Lanka by eight wickets on Wednesday in Colombo to clinch the three-match series 2-1 and cap off their tour of the island nation on a high. Chasing a modest 133 for victory, Bangladesh rode on opener Tanzid Hasan's unbeaten 73 to achieve their target with 21 balls to spare at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Spinner Mahedi Hasan set up victory with figures of 4-11 to restrict Sri Lanka to 132-7 after the hosts elected to bat first. "It is a proud moment for me as a captain," Litton said. "I am happy that the fans are also happy seeing us win a T20 series in Sri Lanka." Litton, who was named Bangladesh T20 skipper until next year's World Cup in India, led the T20 team in the absence of Najmul Hossain Shanto last year in a 3-0 series sweep in the West Indies. "Both series wins are huge for me," said Litton, who was named player of the series for his 114 runs in the three matches. "Beating the West Indies in their back yard is massive. They are a strong team in their conditions. It is the same in Sri Lanka. They are a balanced team too." Sri Lanka, led by Charith Asalanka, won the ODI series 2-1 followed by victory in the opening T20 before they lost two straight matches by big margins. "We are bitterly disappointed," said Asalanka. "We probably made a blunder at the toss. When I came on to bowl, I realised that the wicket had improved. "We need to take responsibility for the way we batted. It can happen in one game but this happening in back-to-back games is a huge concern." "The World Cup is just seven months away and we can't let these things happen. Credit to Bangladesh. "They outperformed us. They fielded better than us and their bowlers were more effective than ours. Their batsmen also had clear plans." str/fk/dh
