Sri Lanka’s elephant count courts controversy

Sri Lanka has conducted its first ever nationwide survey of elephants in which more than 2000 wildlife department staff, volunteers and soldiers took part.

But wildlife conservationists have boycotted it, saying the count is an underhand way of capturing healthy animals and taming them.

Government has refuted the claim and said it is trying to figure out the concentration of elephants in order to minimise human-elephant conflict.

Minelle Fernandez reports from Minneriya National Park, in Sri Lanka’s north-west province.