The country’s latest elephant census should not be treated as a mere statistic but used to drive immediate policy action, warns Dilena Pathragoda, Managing Director of the Center for Environmental Justice (CEJ).
Her warning comes amid a sharp rise in human–elephant conflict, with nearly 400 wild elephants killed in 2025 alone. While the national elephant population is currently estimated at around 5,879, Pathragoda cautioned that the figure will be meaningless unless strong land-use planning, habitat protection, and law enforcement measures are urgently implemented.
“As of mid-December, nearly 397 elephants had died in 2025. Most of these deaths were caused by shootings, electrocutions, train collisions, and other human-related activities. If this trend continues, only census figures will remain as proof of their existence,” she said.
Official data shows that 388 elephants died in 2024, compared to 488 deaths in 2023—the highest annual death toll on record. Environmentalists say the continued losses point to a systemic failure to protect elephant habitats and traditional migration corridors.
Elephant populations are unevenly distributed across the country, with higher densities in the Mahaweli, Eastern, and North-Western regions. In contrast, other areas are experiencing steep declines due to habitat fragmentation and unplanned development.
Pathragoda noted that short-term mitigation measures, such as temporary fencing projects, have failed to address the root causes of the conflict. She identified shootings, illegal electric fences, improvised explosive devices, poisoning, and train collisions as the main contributors to repeated elephant deaths.
Calling for elephant conservation to be treated as a national governance priority, Pathragoda warned that failure to act decisively would result in future censuses recording even steeper declines.
“Elephants are a vital part of Sri Lanka’s natural heritage and economy. Ignoring these warning signs will come at an irreversible cost,” she stressed.
