The Story of Joa the African Elephant-by Srilal Miththapala Source:Dailymirror Joa was probably born in 1992, and was brought to the Dehiwela Zoo in 1995. He was a 3 year old African Bush (or Savannah) elephant. There are two sub species of African elephants, the Forest Elephant and the larger Bush Elephant. He was one of two African elephants sent from Botswana on an exchange programme between zoos. His companion was Nandipa, an African Forest elephant who was smaller in stature than Joa. Unfortunately Nandipa died at the early age of six. When Joa reached the young adolescent age, (around 8-10 years in elephants) he started becoming very aggressive. The only mahout who could somewhat control him retired in 2016, and subsequently Joa had to be constantly chained in all four feet. This caused considerable backlash on the zoo, from animal lovers and activists. I remember visiting the zoo in 2017 ...
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The man who saved African elephants in 1980s-By Tharindu Muthukumarana Source:Island Dr. Richard Leakey and what Sri Lankan conservationists can adopt from his work Author of the award-winning book “The Life of Last Proboscideans: Elephants” tharinduele@gmail.com Richard Leakey was an inspirational and courageous conservationist and I was privileged to meet him. He transformed the Kenyan Wildlife Service and valiantly spearheaded efforts to stop elephant poaching. Conservation has lost a true visionary. – Prince William “Ivory must be seen as only valuable if it is on an animal. It should not be ever seen as a valuable commodity for trade”. This was the very words of a man larger than a life by the name Richard Erskine Leakey. He passed away peacefully at aged 77 on January 2, 2022 at his home in Kona Baridi, Kenya. But his life was brewed with adventures. It is fair enough to say Leakey was ...
