Mahout’s spear kills elephant

17 January 2011 12:37 pm

An elephant at the Pinnawela elephant orphanage died under tragic circumstances, allegedly due to injuries caused by its caretakers’ spear, an official said today.

Two mahouts and an Animal Protection Officer at the Orphanage were suspended from service following the death of the elephant at the orphanage, Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage Director S. Gunaratne said.

Last November the same elephant ‘Neelagiri’ had been injured by spear strikes from several other mahouts, initial investigations revealed.  (Karunaratne Atukorala, Rohana Kumara)