Elephants eat their crops. Farmers strike back. It's a war that's only getting worse
Farmers in Sri Lanka are engaged in a growing conflict with elephants that raid their crops, leading to increased violence and deaths on both sides. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs due to the Mideast war are exacerbating tensions, making farmers more desperate and aggressive in protecting their livelihoods. Once revered and able to coexist, elephants and humans are now locked in a deadly struggle over land and resources.
- ▪Sri Lanka's elephant population, estimated at 7,400, increasingly clashes with farmers as traditional grazing lands are converted to farmland.
- ▪From 2011 to 2023, elephant deaths rose from 255 to 488, while attacks on farmers more than doubled from 60 to 188.
- ▪Farmers use lethal methods such as gunfire, electrocution, and jaw bombs—explosives hidden in food—to kill elephants, despite such acts being illegal.
- ▪Improved irrigation has enabled year-round farming, reducing fallow periods and increasing elephant access to nutrient-rich crops.
- ▪Experts attribute the escalating conflict to shrinking habitats, agricultural expansion, and economic pressures on farmers.
- ▪Zoology professor Devaka Weerakoon notes that farmers' desperation is reflected in the inhumane methods used to kill elephants.
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| Canonical URL | https://www.npr.org/2026/05/16/g-s1-121654/elephants-farmers-crops-sri-lanka |
| Publication time | Sat, 16 May 2026 07:19:25 -0400 |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Global Health Elephants eat their crops. Farmers strike back. It's a war that's only getting worse May 16, 20267:19 AM ET By Diaa Hadid , Susitha Fernando Mideast war worsens conflict between elephants and villagers in Sri Lanka Listen · 5:21 5:21 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-121654/nx-s1-9763724" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript A bull male elephant is seen meticulously dismantling an electric fence inside Yala National Park in Sri Lanka. Elephants are often herded into parks to keep them from eating the crops of farmers, but the pachyderms have figured out how to manipulate the wooden fence poles to lay the wires flat and then step over them.
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