Then they suffer nonstop!

Villagers of Pandarellawa in Kahatagasdigiliya said that they witness a peculiar ritualistic behaviour of a herd of elephants these days.

“The herd comes near a grave of a she-elephant and her baby every evening and dawn and mourn over their loss,” they said.

The villagers said the mother and the baby elephants were buried in a grave at an extreme corner of the Heenela paddy fields a fortnight ago. They were allegedly poisoned, they said.

Shayamalee Kavisekara, a resident near the grave, said that the female elephant was pregnant and found dead near the paddy field two weeks ago, and wildlife officers held the postmortem taking the baby elephant out. “Their remains were buried later here,” she said.

“Since then, a herd of elephants of about 30 visits the site every evening and dawn and goes around it trumpeting and remain solemnly there for some time,” Shayamalee said. “It seems that they are mourning over the untimely death of their loved ones.

We have never seen such a behaviour although we know they have a strong bond among the members of a herd,” Shayamalee told.

Anuradhapura Wildlife Assistant Director Sarath Bandara said the mother elephant had been poisoned with the baby inside. He added that a verdict given following the postmortem established that the elephants were poisoned.