Feeding wild animals in Wildlife Parks - irresponsible!

Majestic Sambhur Stag.

This majestic stag was was seen at Horton Plains where they are really quite prolific and common. He was standing just by the road and it was very sad to see that this wild animal was being fed by a local visitor to the park. When wild animals are fed it actually causes them a lot of stress, because they get used to being fed and just like a small child they keep wanting more and expecting more. This can also lead to aggressive behavior by the animal.

Sambhur being fed at Horton Plains

Recently there was a case of a large elephant at Yala who was fed by a monk at a nearby temple located in the jungle. This elephant got so used to being fed that later he would visit park bungalows and on one occasion he had made quite a brazen foray to the Mahaseelawa park bungalow and put his trunk inside looking for food. The elephant had proceeded to grab a chair out of the bungalow and thrown it out. Such behavior by a wild elephant is most unusual and also dangerous. Despite many pleas by wildlife lovers and conservationists the monk at the temple paid little heed and continued to feed this elephant. Sadly one day the elephant looking for food made a foray into the army camp near Warahana and was shot by army soldiers.


Elephant with Elephant Rock in Background at Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. This picture was taken with tracker Chandratilleke who guided me into position. He was a beautiful large elephant, seemed a little agitated by our presence and was throwing sand in the air and also stamping on the ground with his fore feet. The trickle of musth is visible below the eye and Elephants are known to become aggressive and unpredictable at such times.