Guns, Wires, and Jaw Bombs: The Three
Weapons Driving Sri Lanka's Elephants Toward Extinction 
Supun Lahiru Prakash
For well over decades, Sri Lanka's
endangered elephants have been caught in the crossfire of a relentless
conflict. While the human-elephant conflict has claimed hundreds of human lives
and devastated rural livelihoods, the toll on the island's majestic pachyderms
has been catastrophic—driven primarily by three human-made weapons. Gunshots
from retaliatory killings, electrocution from unauthorized death traps, and the
insidious Hakkapatas—improvised explosive devices hidden in food bait that
shatter an elephant's jaw, leading to a slow death from starvation and
infection—have collectively claimed nearly half of all elephant
deaths reported each year. This decades-long tragedy has pushed a revered
national treasure to the brink while the authorities shot in the dark.
The Department of Wildlife Conservation
(DWC) data reveals the scale of the crisis. In 2025 alone, 455
elephant deaths were recorded, of which 79 elephants were killed by
gunshots, 69 died from electrocution, and 56 died after triggering Hakkapatas.
Comparatively, 2023 was the worst year in the recent
past on record, with 488 elephant deaths. The total number of recorded
deaths from these three causes rose by approximately 8.5% between 2023 and
2025. Gunshots remain the most frequent cause, averaging 78 deaths per year,
while Hakkapatas show the most consistent upward trend (a 16.7% increase
over the period), which is particularly concerning, as these
makeshift explosives are indiscriminate and cause immense suffering. The
combined deaths from gunshot, electrocution, and Hakkapatas in 2025 account for
204 deaths—approximately 45% of the annual total.
Gunshots
Gunshot wounds remain the most frequent
identifiable cause of elephant death, averaging approximately 18% of
deaths per year. This reflects the ongoing conflict as elephants venture into
human settlements in search of food and water. However, the distinction between
retaliatory killings and repeated crop-raiding incidents is often blurred. Most
elephants are not shot in a single act of revenge but suffer cumulative exposure
to gunfire over long periods during crop raiding.
The issue is compounded by the use of
illegal, locally made firearms. The DWC has noted that over 90% of fatal
shootings are carried out with unlicensed weapons. This makes
investigations difficult, as authorities cannot trace bullets or weapons,
hindering legal action against perpetrators.
The proliferation of illegal guns has a
corrosive effect beyond conservation. In regions where wildlife crime is
prevalent, the same illegal weapons supply chains often fuel broader criminal
activity, eroding trust in state authorities' ability to protect both citizens
and the environment.
Hence, preventing the proliferation of
illegal firearms demands a multi-pronged
strategy. Strengthening surveillance and intelligence-led policing is
essential to disrupt smuggling networks, while stricter enforcement of existing
penalties—free from corruption—would serve as a powerful deterrent. At the same
time, alternative livelihood programs for rural communities can address the
root causes of demand. Non-lethal conflict mitigation measures, including
electric fencing and rapid-response units, are equally vital to protect
communities from the escalating human-elephant conflict. Periodic amnesty
programs allowing civilians to surrender weapons without penalty can further
reduce the existing stockpile. Ultimately, lasting success hinges on building
trust between communities and law enforcement, so that farmers no longer view
illegal firearms as their only line of defense.
Electrocution
Each year, electrocution by death
traps—constructed by residents using direct power supply to protect households,
by farmers to protect cultivations, and by poachers to kill bushmeat—claims a
devastating share of elephant deaths. In last year alone, data
from the DWC indicates electrocution killed 69 elephants. The tragic death
of Deeghadanthu is among the most recent electrocution incidents to
have provoked a massive public outcry, drawing national attention to the
escalating crisis. In the quiet darkness of a November night in 2024,
Deeghadanthu—the largest tusker roaming the Kalawewa National Park—took his
final steps. A householder had illegally constructed a death trap, to protect
his home garden, which delivered a fatal shock that silenced one of
Sri Lanka's most magnificent creatures. He was estimated to be between 45 and
50 years old at the time of his death.
A post-mortem examination by wildlife
veterinarians concluded that the animal suffered fatal heart failure as a
direct result of electrocution. A severe internal burn injury measuring
approximately one foot in length was observed in the tusker's trunk.
Deeghadanthu joins a tragic roll call of iconic tuskers—Barana, Revatha, and
Walagamba—all killed the same way.
The DWC has initiated a programme to
detect illegal fences; however, these initiatives have largely operated under
the assumption that elephant deaths stem from faults in legally installed
conventional electric fences. In reality, most deadly electrocutions are caused
by illegal wires connected directly to household electricity supplies or the
national grid, and operated covertly at night. The Ceylon Electricity Board
(CEB) itself has confirmed that around 50 out of 56 electrocution deaths
reported in 2024 resulted from unauthorized tapping of its supply lines. These
are not legal fences with technical faults, but intentionally dangerous
installations. Such illegal connections constitute a criminal offence under Sri
Lankan criminal legislation, and they fall squarely within the CEB's mandate,
which holds the authority to take legal action under the National Electricity
Act. However, without stronger penalties—including the power to disconnect
electricity supply to offending households for months—the threat remains
unchanged. In a significant development, authorities are now taking steps to
invoke the Public Property Act for the first time in Sri Lanka against the
suspect accused of causing the death of the tusker Deeghadanthu.
Hakka Patas
The first case of a Sri Lankan
elephant killed by 'Hakka Patas' was reported in 2008. Within a short
period, these explosives became one of the main killers of this endangered
species. The explosive device is packed with gunpowder and metal scraps or
gravel, concealed inside food bait such as pumpkins or dried fish. When an
elephant bites the bait, the device detonates inside its mouth, damaging the
mouth cavity, oral tissues, and the jawbone. The victims are unable to eat or
drink anything and finally starve to death while wounds become
contaminated with germs. The death is slow and agonizing, often taking weeks.
Most victims are recorded from Anuradhapura, North Western, Polonnaruwa,
and Eastern regions; however, elephants in all wildlife regions are at risk.
Hunters pioneered this method for bushmeat
production because wild boar can be easily killed using this technique.
However, it is no longer limited to wild boar; other wild animals including
elephants and domestic animals such as dogs and cattle are becoming victims.
Small mammals face sudden death, while larger animals suffer prolonged deaths.
Due to widespread use, it is possible these devices are being manufactured at a
commercial level in some places and distributed throughout the island through a
covert network. Furthermore, these devices are now being used to intentionally
kill elephants.
Refusing to eat bushmeat is the main way
the general public can reduce the number of elephant deaths. Authorities should
strengthen law enforcement against culprits, as killing or injuring elephants
is a punishable offense under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance.
Against this backdrop, even without
publishing the final survey report of the second National Survey of Elephants
(2024), authorities repeatedly claiming that the elephant population in Sri
Lanka is increasing seems to be an attempt to hide the government's inability
to manage the rising annual elephant death rate and the complications of
human-elephant conflict.
According to the First Island-wide
National Survey of Elephants in Sri Lanka (2011), 5,879 elephants were counted.
However, from 2012 to 2025, more than 4,600 elephants have
died predominantly as a result of the escalating human-elephant
conflict. Elephants have the longest gestation period of any land
animal—approximately 22 months. Accordingly, in a context where
nearly 80% of the country's elephant population reported in 2011 has died
within the subsequent 14 years, it is difficult to accept the claim that the
population of such a slow-reproducing species has
increased. Furthermore, researchers have revealed that the interbirth
interval of female wild elephants is increasing, and a significant percentage
of calf deaths is being reported.
The relentless slaughter of Sri Lanka's
elephants through gunshots, electrocution, and Hakkapatas is not merely a
conservation crisis—it is a national tragedy that speaks to deeper failures in
governance, law enforcement, and our collective conscience. Behind every
statistic lies a sentient being that suffered a slow, agonizing death; behind
every death lies a community driven to desperation by the daily reality of
human-elephant conflict.
The numbers are unforgiving, and the path
forward demands more than piecemeal measures. It requires a fundamental shift
in how we value wildlife—not as a nuisance to be eliminated, but as an economic
and cultural asset worth protecting. Stronger penalties for wildlife crimes,
genuine law enforcement free from corruption, community-based conservation that
makes elephants an asset rather than a liability, and a complete ban on
bushmeat consumption are all essential.
Ultimately, the question is not whether
Sri Lanka can afford to save its elephants, but whether it can afford to lose
them. The answer will define not only the fate of a species, but the moral
character of a nation.
The article was written for the special supplement published by the Daily News to mark World Elephant Day 2026.
