These details were revealed at a Wild Elephant Management Committee meeting held on May 14 at the Anuradhapura District Secretariat under the patronage of Minister of Trade and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
Officials stated that the wild elephant population in the district, which stood at around 1,200 in the year 2000, has increased to approximately 1,500 by 2026.
Meanwhile, forest coverage in the district has significantly declined over the years. In 2000, the district had nearly 273,000 hectares of forest land. By 2025, forest cover had decreased by around 60,000 hectares, leaving the current total forest area at approximately 213,000 hectares.
During the meeting, several measures were discussed to address the growing human-elephant conflict. These include expanding the electric fence network, improving water facilities for elephants, removing aggressive elephants from conflict zones, establishing elephant management offices, and integrating 468 Civil Security Department personnel into the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
The event was attended by Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, Member of Parliament Susantha Kumara Navaratne, Anuradhapura District Secretary Ranjith Wimalasuriya, Additional District Secretary Sandhya Abeysekara, and several other officials.
