Heartbreaking images show a herd of Sri Lankan elephants foraging through a rubbish dump. The picture shows the wild animals picking through the plastic at a refuse facility in Oluvil, where they can be seen eating some of the rubbish they find.
The dump encroaches on the herd’s natural habitat in the jungles in the eastern province – however, the local elephants’ health is now at 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘 as they accidentally eat plastics that they find in the pile of waste.
Jaffna-based photographer Tharmaplan Tilaxan witnessed the sad sight, capturing and sharing the images that you see in this article.
Mr. Tilaxan said: “In the eastern province, a herd of wild elephants has picked up a peculiar and sad habit.
“Since of late, these elephants have been seen foraging for food in garbage dumps.”
The dump is by the forest that borders the Ampara district, and the increase in waste means that it has spread closer to the forest, subsequently attracting elephants as they look for food.
A fence was initially put up around the dump but this has since broken, meaning the animals can enter freely. Since the dump began to spread, carrier bags and plastic packaging have covered the forest, with quantities of undigested plastics found in the feces of the animals.
Tragically, this is not the only instance of elephants being spotted eating from rubbish dumps in recent times – similar photos emerged from another site last month. Pictures show an elephant in India covered in the trash as it uses its trunk to sift through a mound of plastic waste.
He said: “I hope these photos encourage people to stop littering. The garbage was left behind by vans.
“The elephant was snacking on plastic which was painful for me to see.”
“These elephants no longer forage in the jungle. They are like zoo animals. It is a sad sight to see national treasures picking through rotting rubbish,” he added of some of the elephants who have become dependent on 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑠ℎ 𝑑𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑠 for food.
Plastics and other 𝑡𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑐 materials have been detected in the elephants’ excrements in the area, worrying animal experts.
As well as the pollution it causes, animals can often mistakenly eat plastic, which can have 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙 consequences. In May, a vet in Thailand removed a 30cm long plastic bag from a sea turtle’s intestines.
Around 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans every year and traces of plastic are appearing in the seafood on our plates, having been mistakenly consumed by aquatic animals.
As such, plastic pollution is affecting the food chain at every level, and the extent of the 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 posed by microplastic consumption in humans is not yet fully understood.
“Plastics are doing untold damage to our wildlife — elephants, deer and other animals,” environment minister Mahinda Amaraweera said, per the outlet. “We need to take immediate action to arrest this situation.”
Tilaxan says despite numerous talks with authorities to come up with a solution to the problem, no action has yet been taken to keep the elephants out.
