Thato Chwaane
10 April 2008
Gaborone — Two Sri Lankans were killed by elephants at the Mokolodi Nature Reserve on Tuesday. The two were elephant handlers working for the Mokolodi/Serendib Elephant Project.
The project's spokesman Jeroen van Wilgen said it is not known how the Sri Lankans died. He said they are investigating the deaths and a specialist is coming from Maun to look into the matter. He added that the deceased were trained elephant handlers. He gave their names as Chandan Alahakoon (38) and Piyal Pedige (35). He said they have been working for the Serendib Elephant Project for several years. Van Wilgen said they started looking for the duo at closing time and became concerned when they did not answer calls. He said the suspected killer-elephants have been in the reserve since they were born 15 years ago and have never shown any aggression. A statement from the Mokolodi/Serendib Elephant Project says the elephants have safely accompanied tourists including presidents. They have at no time put any visitor at risk.
"All animals can be unpredictable, and while all precautions and care have been taken by Serendib and especially by the elephant handlers, incidents such as these cannot unfortunately be totally ruled out," the statement reads. As a result of the incident and out of respect for the deceased, the park will be closed until April 11.
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