Kavantissa, Sri Lanka's tallest bull elephant, dies at 45 after leg injury
The animal was found with a gunshot wound to its right leg in late September and received veterinary treatment before dying on October 16.
By Lina Lewis ·
A wild elephant that stood 3.3 meters tall and weighed about 5,500 kilograms died in northwestern Sri Lanka on October 16 after being shot in the leg. Kavantissa was about 45 years old and was regarded as the tallest living male elephant in the country. He moved across the area near Galgamuwa, a village where his size drew a large following.
Villagers reported that the animal was limping in late September. A gunshot wound was found on his right leg. Veterinary surgeons treated him, but he did not recover.
Sri Lanka holds about 10% of the world's Asian elephants on land that represents about 2% of the subspecies' natural range, producing the highest density of the animals anywhere. The SriLankan elephant is an endangered subspecies on the IUCN Red List and is protected by national law, which carries fines and jail terms for wildlife offenses.
Official figures show that an average of 370 elephants and 125 people have died each year since 2019 in encounters between the two species. Elephants raid crops and enter farmland, which leads to these incidents. The country records more elephant deaths annually than any other nation and the second highest number of human deaths from such encounters worldwide.
The rural population rose from 8.25 million in 1960 to 17.8 million in 2020, and farming remains the primary source of income, so land clearing for agriculture continues. Forest cover has contracted over recent decades. The Department of Wildlife Conservation counted an estimated 7,451 wild elephants in 2024, with about 70% living outside protected areas. Each animal consumes roughly 150 kilograms of green matter daily, which draws them toward fields.
Ravi Corea, president of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society, identifies habitat loss, agricultural expansion, fragmented elephant corridors and competition for land as drivers of the conflict. Crop losses can threaten a rural family's main source of food and income, he said, which separates the issue from wildlife conflicts in wealthier countries. Corea said the numbers continue to rise despite government efforts. He called a national action plan drafted in 2020 a useful foundation that needs a comprehensive conservation strategy with enforceable habitat protection.
Programs run by non-governmental groups have shown results. Project Orange Elephant in the Wasgamuwa region asks farmers to grow citrus, which elephants avoid, reducing crop raiding while adding income. Electric fencing also protects settlements and farmland. The EleFriendly bus service carries schoolchildren through elephant corridors in the same region, where confrontations had in some cases kept children from walking to school. The service has cut dangerous encounters along its original route by more than 90%.
Kamal Shashendra, an environmental ethics researcher based in Sri Lanka, said any solution must protect human lives, livelihoods and elephant populations at the same time. He points to scientifically informed land-use planning, protected corridors, community-based fencing, early-warning systems and fair compensation for affected families.
