Wild elephant in Minneriya National Park run over by train

A wild elephant in the Minneriya National Park was run over by the Batticaloa bound night mail train in the early hours of last morning at Batuoya.

Wildlife conservation officials said the well built jumbo was about seven feet tall and between 10 and 15 years of age. They said the constant movement of wild elephants between Minneriya and Kaudulla national parks across the railway line resulted in them being run over by trains. They pointed out that the death toll of wild elephants in accidents and in the human-elephant conflict was increasing.