Kavantissa, Sri Lanka's Tallest Elephant, Dies At 45 After Leg Shooting
Vets treated the 11-foot, 5,500-kilogram tusker after villagers spotted him limping near Galgamuwa in late September, but he did not recover.
By Adewale Fletcher ·
Kavantissa, the male elephant regarded as the tallest in Sri Lanka, died on October 16, about a month after a gunshot wound was found on his right leg. He was believed to be about 45 years old, stood roughly 3.3 meters high and weighed around 5,500 kilograms.
He ranged across the northwest of the country near Galgamuwa. In late September, villagers saw him limping, and a closer look revealed the wound on his right leg. Veterinary surgeons treated him, but he did not survive.
Sri Lanka records more elephant deaths each year than any other country. Official figures show an average of 370 elephants and 125 people have died annually in such incidents since 2019, mostly when elephants raid crops and push into farmland. The island holds about 10% of the world's Asian elephants while covering about 2% of their total natural range, the highest density of the species anywhere. The Department of Wildlife Conservation counted about 7,451 wild elephants in 2024, and roughly 70% live outside protected areas.
Ravi Corea, president of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society, attributes the conflict to habitat loss, agricultural expansion, fragmented elephant corridors and competition for land. He said crop losses can threaten a rural family's main source of food and income, and that the numbers are still rising. A national action plan drafted in 2020 is a useful foundation, he said, but it needs to be backed by a comprehensive conservation strategy with enforceable habitat protection.
Community programs have shown results. Project Orange Elephant in the Wasgamuwa region encourages farmers to grow citrus that elephants avoid, and electric fencing protects settlements and farmland. The EleFriendly bus service carries schoolchildren through elephant corridors in the same region and has cut dangerous encounters on its original route by more than 90%.
Kamal Shashendra, an environmental ethics researcher based in Sri Lanka, said any just solution must protect human lives, livelihoods and elephant populations at the same time. He called for scientifically informed land-use planning, protected corridors, community-based fencing, early-warning systems and fair compensation for affected families.
