The female elephant ‘Seetha’, who was injured following a shooting incident by a wildlife officer, underwent several scanning tests, including three thermal imaging scans, Wildlife Conservation Department Health Director Tharaka Prasad said.
He said that after the thermal scans, he found several rubber bullet parts inside the left leg of the elephant.
“These parts were found less than 2 cm deep in the skin. No reaction was found from the body of the elephant against the rubber bullet parts. However, the elephant is still under observation,” Prasad said.
The elephant Seetha was accidentally shot at eight times by a member of the Civil Defense Department after mistakenly identifying the elephant brought to the Mahiyangana Raja Maha Vihara annual procession, as a wild elephant.
The suspect wildlife officer said that the elephant was shot at with rubber bullets with the aim of chasing it away for the safety of the people who had arrived to witness the perahera.
Mahiyangana police are conducting further investigations into the incident.
