COLOMBO — More than a decade ago, Thushari, a young female elephant, born wild and free, would roam the landscapes of Galgamuwa in northwestern Sri Lanka every day with her family in search of water and food, crossing the railway tracks that bisected their territory. On the night of June 17, 2011, the full moon cast a silvery glow over the landscape, illuminating the railway tracks that shimmered under its light. As 9-year-old Thushari and her family approached the crossing, a distant mechanical rumble broke the silence and continued to grow louder — hush … hush — followed by the deafening blare of a train horn. A monstrous figure, with glaring headlights for eyes and smoke billowing from its top, hurtled fast toward them. The impact was devastating. Thushari and her younger brother were killed instantly. Their mother, gravely wounded, collapsed nearby. Thushari was a radio-collared elephant, monitored by Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and the Center for Conservation and Research Sri Lanka (CCR). Her death was a tragic loss — not just for her herd, but for elephant conservation efforts in Sri Lanka as well. Thushari’s fate was neither the first nor the last. Sri Lanka’s railway tracks continue to claim the lives of wild elephants, with the latest incident in February this year where seven elephants including four calves died. This incident occurred in northwestern Habarana region in Polonnaruwa district, near the Gal Oya junction, another elephant-train collision hotspot. Thushari, a young female elephant from northwestern…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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