Happy ending as baby jumbo is rescued from hunter’s trap
Text and pix by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi
An elephant calf caught in a hunter's trap in the jungle area of Sanhindagama, in Hambantota has been rescued by Wildlife officials.
Area residents who had heard the agonising cries of the four-month old calf whose trunk had got caught in the trap had alerted the Hambantota Wildlife Department.
A team led by Dr Malaka Abeywardena, a veterinarian from the Udawalawa Elephant Transit Home had then begun the rescue mission.
Wildlife officers had to first tranquilise the calf ’s mother, who was standing over her calf. The officers then proceeded to rescue the calf from the trap and treat its wounds. They also treated a wound on the she elephant’s tail prior to sending both mother and calf back to the jungle