Sri Lanka police lose gun as elephants charge during stake-out
An elephant walks on a road in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on September 28, 2017. Police fled and lost a gun after elephants charged at them during a stake-out at a cannabis farm in Sri Lanka. PHOTO | FILE | LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI | AFP
What you need to know:
- Policemen, who had been camping out near the plantation in a bid to catch crooks on a cannabis farm, ran for their lives when elephants charged at them.
- They lost a weapon and were looking for it on Sunday.
COLOMBO
Sri Lankan police who were charged by elephants as they staked out a cannabis farm dropped an automatic rifle as they ran for their lives, sparking a hunt on Sunday for the missing weapon.
Policemen who had been camping out near the plantation in a bid to catch crooks turned tail and scarpered after the huge creatures started hurtling after them.
RAN FOR THEIR LIVES
"The constables dropped their weapons and fled to save their lives when the elephants charged," a statement said.
Officers were now looking for the T56 automatic assault rifle in the bush at Lunugamvehera, 225 kilometres south of the capital Colombo.
Sri Lanka has strict laws protecting elephants, which are considered sacred. However, about 200 jumbos are killed annually by farmers who say wild elephants stray onto their land and destroy their crops.
About 50 people are killed in wild elephant attacks annually.
Sri Lanka's elephant population has dwindled to just over 7,000, according to the latest census, down from an estimated 12,000 in 1900.
