In an extremely sad incident, a young elephant passed away in Sri Lanka after carrying around tourists for three consecutive rides. The 18-year-old elephant who was known as Kanakota used to ferry tourists around in the town of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. The teenage elephant had been carrying around tourists non-stop three times before he collapsed and breathed his last.
Elephant Dies Of Exhaustion In Sri Lanka
After Kanakota’s death, animal welfare activists worldwide have collectively taken up arms to avenge the young elephant’s death. Kanakota had been carrying tourists for the last four years. According to sources, on the 16th of October, Kanakota was on his third ride of the day when he stopped in his tracks and refused to move. The mahout and tour leaders tried to coax him into moving but he was clearly not feeling too well. Soon, the tour leaders assisted the tourists off of his back. And just like that, Kanakota collapsed and passed away.
The entire incident was heartbreaking and locals were seen gathering around the poor elephant laying blankets on him. Speaking to Daily Mirror, Paul Healy of animal rights group Moving Animals said, “This young elephant’s tragic and cruel death was entirely preventable. Until tourists refuse to ride elephants, more of these gentle giants will continue to suffer and collapse from exhaustion,”.
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He also urged people not to ride elephants and to make the Sri Lankan government instate a new Animal Welfare bill. The bill will help in offering the animals protection and prevent their untimely deaths.
Post-Kanakota’s death, an investigation has been launched to find out the exact cause behind his unfortunate passing. The general consensus, however, remains that the elephant was under undue stress due to carrying around passengers in the heat of the Sri Lankan sun.
Twitter was up in arms following his death and people across the world are campaigning against the exploitation of animals.