Urgent veterinary treatment has begun for ‘Kavantissa’, the tusker that roams the Galgamuwa area, after a special team from the Department of Wildlife Conservation mounted an operation on Thursday morning.
The treatment was launched near the Usgala Siyabalangamuwa Lake, where the elephant has been roaming, under the direction of Nikaweratiya Veterinary Officer Pubudu, the Daily Mirror reported.
The operation is being carried out under the guidance of Director of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Ganga and Veterinary Officer Isuru, with the intervention of Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi and the Ministry Secretary.
Veterinarians and wildlife officers from the Department, together with a special medical team, are administering treatment based on the elephant’s current condition. The teams are continuing to monitor Kavantissa closely, and the Daily Mirror reported that measures are being taken to safeguard his health and ensure his safety.
Update — September 26: treatment into a third day
Veterinary officers treated Kavantissa for a third consecutive day on Saturday (26), Hiru News reported.
Hiru identifies the injury for the first time: a wound to the tusker’s front right leg. The treatment is being led by medical officers from the Nikaweratiya Veterinary Unit, with officers from the Galgamuwa and Meegalewa Wildlife Offices keeping the animal under close watch.
Officers from Meegalewa Police have been deployed to assist — specifically, Hiru reports, to control people obstructing the treatment operation. Crowds gathering around Kavantissa have been a recurring complication in the Galgamuwa area, where the tusker is a well-known local presence.
What the reports do not say
The Daily Mirror’s account does not state what caused the injury, how serious his condition is, or how long the operation is expected to continue. It does not give the full names of the veterinary officers involved, or say whether Kavantissa was tranquillised for the procedure.
Hiru’s follow-up, while naming the injured limb, does not say how the leg was injured, whether the wound is responding to treatment, or how many more days of treatment are expected. Neither report says how many people have obstructed the operation or whether anyone has been arrested or warned.
Kavantissa is widely described in Sri Lanka as one of the country’s largest surviving wild tuskers, and has been a recurring subject of conservation concern in the Galgamuwa area.
Context
The operation comes as the Department of Wildlife Conservation works under sustained pressure. Its veterinary staff have been at the centre of a dispute over professional conditions, with the Ministry pledging legal support for wildlife officers earlier the same week.
The Government has separately expanded resources for the electric fence network, which now runs to 5,741 km, as part of its response to human–elephant conflict.
Note: the Daily Mirror spells the Environment Minister’s name “Dhammika Patabendi”; this report uses the spelling used across our earlier coverage.