
The Wildlife Department together with the Police yesterday started a comprehensive investigation into the shooting of an elephant in Block III of the Yala National Park.
The carcass of the elephant was found in Block III near the Samurdhi wewa and its tail and the tusks were also cut off. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the elephant has been shot in the head. Investigators believe that the poachers may have taken away the tusks and the tail. The incident of elephants being killed in the Kataragama area near the Yala park has been on the rise. An elephant was killed in the Kataragama area on August 14 too by Hakka Patas.