Drunk Farmers are Leading Cause of Human Death by Sri Lankan Elephants
Drunk Farmers are Leading Cause of Human Death by Elephants
Drunk Farmers are to blame for most of human deaths in Sri Lanka. A recent study by preeminent biologists support this observation. The report on human/elephant conflict (HEC) was released this past May.
For nearly a decade, our crews have spent evenings roving the elephant range regions where night watchmen are supposedly being vigilant in keeping elephants away from their cultivated fields. The night watchmen are either hired for the job, or more typically have ownership interests. The report states that the the vast majority of elephant trampling are male, with a median age of 52 years. Our crew can vouch that this is the average age of men we encounter under the cover of darkness, and the vast majority of them are either drunk, or on their way to being so.
This is so unfortunate, as these inebriated men are largely responsible for their own death, and the sensationalized stories of their deaths are not accurately reported by the mass media. No family member wants it reported that their Uncle was a drunkard! Villagers then demand removal of the elephants, or worse, take law into their own hands and kill the suspected elephant, or a multiple of them.
As this definitive report concludes, the media should be honest and report the cause of death and show people that They are the problem….not the elephants!
Our sincere appreciation goes out to Pruthu Fernando and the Center for Conservation
"Of 686 human deaths from 2010–1018, in 673 the gender was recorded with 581 being male and 92 female. Significantly more men than women died from the conflict. The mean age of male victims was 52 years.”
"Many deaths due to HEC are caused by irresponsible behavior of people, such as approaching wild elephants while inebriated, harassing elephants and unnecessarily chasing them. Most human deaths due to HEC are preventable if appropriate precautions are taken. Mass media plays a major role in drawing attention to HEC and shaping public reaction to it. Therefore media should report incidents of HEC responsibly with elucidation and reportage of actual reasons and circumstances causing incidents, rather than sensationalizing them.” (1)
"Annual death rates in Sri Lanka due to motor accidents are over 3000 (Ministry of Transport & Civil Aviation 2019), drowning over 900 (WHO 2014) and snakebites about 400 (Ediriweera et al. 2016). While comparatively less in contrast to other causes of accidental deaths, deaths caused by HEC often cause public protests, attracting much media attention. The reaction to human deaths from elephants, appears to be out of proportion to the extent, hence unacceptable psycho-sociologically.” (1)
(1) Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka: Patterns and Extent, May 2020 T. G. Supun Lahiru Prakash1*, A. W. Wijeratne2 and Prithiviraj Fernando3
