This is the tragic moment when a baby elephant tries to wake up its mother who was suspected to have been poisoned by angry villagers in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />As many as seven other elephants were believed to have been killed for raiding local farms in central Sri Lanka, according to authorities as well as wildlife activists. <br /><br />The carcasses of four animals were found at a forest near Sigiriya, a UNESCO-protected heritage site, on September 27, while three more were discovered on September 28.<br /><br />Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera stated to media: “We have found the remains of seven cow elephants, including a tusker, since Friday.“ <br /><br />According to the forest department officials, a pregnant female and a male were among the four carcasses found on Friday.<br /><br />Wildlife experts and vets are set to carry out autopsies to ascertain if the animals were poisoned, a theory gaining currency among wildlife activists since the news broke first on Friday. <br /><br />According to police, a spate of incidents involving wild elephants storming villages and destroying crops in the area might have triggered the killing. <br /><br />At present, Sri Lanka has has an elephant population of nearly 5,500. <br /><br />Experts consider the loss of seven elephants this week a serious blow to the country’s elephant population. All seven animals found dead were said to have been 10 to 15 years old. <br /><br />Jayantha Jayawardena, managing trustee of the Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust told The Hindu: “Elephants generally walk about 12 miles a night to find food on the way. <br /><br />Now, when they find paths blocked by these houses, they break in and then stumble upon crops. It is like a buffet for them,” <br /><br />Mr. Jayawardena, who has been studying Asian elephants for 40 years, added: “No villager would like to see an elephant killed, but when the animal damages their crops, they are affected badly. They lose their entire income, what can they do?<br /><br />“The government has to engage with the villagers, and relocate them in areas that are better, and provide them suitable housing and livelihoods. Otherwise this human-elephant conflict will just carry on.”
