- Cyclone Ditwah caused extensive flooding across several protected areas in Sri Lanka in late November and early December, resulting in mass deaths of deer and other wildlife that perished largely unreported.
- Wildlife officers rescued several stranded elephant calves separated from their herds, including around five still dependent on milk, with fears that more may have perished.
- Floodwaters destroyed roughly 860 kilometers (534 miles) of electric fencing, about one-sixth of the national total, raising the risk of human-elephant conflict in affected regions.
- Floods also drove venomous snakes into residential areas, prompting wildlife officers and volunteers to carry out urgent rescue operations.
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka continues to grapple with the human toll of Cyclone Ditwah, which triggered devastating floods and landslides killing 650 people and leaving another 200 missing.
In the wake of the human disaster, however, a different tragedy has unfolded largely unnoticed. Across floodplains, protected areas and farmlands, thousands of animals have also fallen victim to one of the worst flooding events the Indian Ocean island has experienced in decades. Unlike the human casualties, however, the true scale of wildlife deaths may never be known.
In Somawathiya National Park, one of Sri Lanka’s most important dry-zone wildlife refuges, wildlife officers have reported extensive mortality among wild animals as well as livestock. The park, which lies within the Mahaweli River Basin, is naturally adapted to seasonal flooding. But the sheer intensity and duration of Ditwah-induced floods appear to have overwhelmed even these flood-tolerant ecosystems.
Dozens of dead deer in single location
According to Amitha Sri Nalaka, a local wildlife officer stationed at Somawathiya, large numbers of sambar (Rusa unicolor) and spotted deer (Axis axis) were found dead across the park after the floodwaters began receding.
“Cattle herders who entered the park searching for their lost livestock reported seeing dozens of dead spotted deer at single locations in several places,” Nalaka told Mongabay. “In some places, as many as 30 deer were lying together, indicating that deer herds became noticeable victims of the intense flooding event.”
The deer are believed to have drowned after getting trapped by rapidly rising waters, unable to reach higher ground. In floodplain ecosystems like Somawathiya, animals often rely on elevated forest patches or human-made structures to escape inundation. But prolonged flooding, strong currents and exhaustion can prove fatal, particularly for juveniles and weakened individuals.
The total number of wild animal deaths due to Ditwah remains unknown. Thick vegetation, lingering floodwaters and access restrictions mean many carcasses may never be counted. Wildlife officers say the visible deaths likely represent only a fraction of the actual toll.
Livestock losses deepen hardships
Floods also claimed large numbers of cattle belonging to communities living along the park’s boundaries. For many families, cattle are their primary livelihood asset. “Cattle deaths were very common,” Nalaka said. “Some herders lost almost their entire herds.”
The loss of livestock not only worsens economic hardship for these already vulnerable communities but also complicates conservation efforts. Desperate herders often enter protected areas in search of surviving animals, increasing the risk of human-wildlife encounters at a time when wildlife themselves are stressed and displaced. The herders know the forest well, and this could result in some of them turning to hunting as an alternative means of subsistence.
Elephant stranded on a sacred stupa
One of the most striking rescue operations during the floods involved a nearly 30-year-old female elephant that became trapped atop the Somawathiya pagoda, a sacred Buddhist stupa revered by pilgrims.
As floodwaters engulfed the surrounding plains, the elephant may have gotten washed away and used the elevated structure to escape the rising waters. The elephant later found herself unable to descend when the floodwaters receded, as the drop from the stupa was too steep for a safe descent.
“She was lactating, and we therefore believe she had a calf somewhere — probably drowned in the floods,” Nalaka said. “She was extremely distressed and acted aggressively toward officers who tried to help.”
Wildlife officers attempted a careful rescue by placing wet carpets at the base of the stupa to provide traction and soften the descent. Despite repeated efforts, the elephant refused to come down while people were present.
Eventually, officers withdrew to minimize stressing the animal. Later that night, she descended on her own and remained in the area for several days, feeding on available vegetation before moving away.
While her rescue was successful, the fate of her calf remains unknown.
Calves separated from herds
Floods have also fragmented elephant herds across the landscape. Wildlife authorities confirmed that at least five elephant calves were found separated from their mothers following the floods.
“We reintroduced elephants that are mature enough to feed on natural fodder to the elephant herds in the area, but kept the other calves that are still dependent on mother’s milk at the wildlife rescue center at Giritale in the northcentral district of Polonnaruwa,” Sameera Kaligu, a veterinary surgeon with the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), told Mongabay. “The mature elephants moved to higher elevations, but floods could disorient elephants, as strong currents, collapsed riverbanks and submerged forests can easily separate calves from their mothers.”
Such separations often have long-term consequences, as orphaned calves require intensive care and may never fully reintegrate back into wild herds, Kaligu noted.
Conservation infrastructure washed away
Beyond the immediate animal deaths, Cyclone Ditwah has severely damaged wildlife protection infrastructure in some areas. Several wildlife offices within the floodplain were submerged, with equipment, records and field supplies destroyed.
Electric fences, a key tool for preventing elephants from entering villages, were washed away or badly damaged across large areas. Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of human-elephant conflict in the world, with more than 400 human deaths and a similar number of elephant deaths reported annually in recent years. Kaligu said flood-related damage to such mitigation infrastructure would only worsen an already critical conservation challenge.
According to Ranjan Marasinghe, director-general of the DWC, a total of 860 kilometers (534 miles) of electric fencing was damaged in the floods, particularly in North Central province. That accounts for nearly one-sixth of the entire span of electric fences set up around Sri Lanka to prevent human-elephant conflict, Marasinghe said.
It’s expected to take at least three months to get new equipment, he added, so for now the DWC is trying to salvage storm-damaged hardware to restore the most critical areas of electric fencing.
Meanwhile, flood-displaced wildlife pose a different set of challenges to human settlements across affected areas.
“We received several calls from distressed homeowners reporting snakes washed in by floodwaters taking refuge inside their homes,” said Lakshan Madusanka, a volunteer snake handler involved in rescue efforts.
Madusanka told Mongabay that some of the snakes rescued included cobras and vipers. Other wildlife that were rescued and relocated to safer areas included porcupines. Rescue teams also saved large numbers of dogs, both strays and pets abandoned when families were forced to flee their homes.
“Animals don’t feature in official disaster statistics, but they are victims too,” Madusanka told Mongabay, “and their losses ripple through ecosystems and livelihoods.”
Banner Image: A female elephant swept away by severe floods sought refuge atop a pagoda in Somawathiya National Park and struggled to descend after floodwaters receded. Image courtesy of Amitha Sri Nalaka.
Credits
