Endangered elephants forage in landfills – raising concerns about their welfare

ENDANGERED elephants are foraging for food at a landfill – raising concerns about their welfare.

Two people died last weekend after ingesting plastic from an open dump in Pallakkadu, eastern Sri Lanka.

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Local experts say it brings the death toll to around 20 over the past eight years.

Local scientists said a large amount of plastic was found in their stomachs.

Nihal Pushpakumara, a wildlife veterinarian, said: “Polythene, food wrappers, plastic, other non-digestibles and water were the only things we were able to see during the examination. autopsy.

“Normal food elephant Eating and digestion are not clear. ”

The number of elephants in the country has dropped from about 14,000 in the 19th century to 6,000 in 2011.

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