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Killer elephant sparks protest in central Sri Lanka
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-14 11:50

COLOMBO: Panic and tension gripped a world heritage site in central Sri Lanka on Monday after an enraged wild elephant trampled a man to death resulting in a massive protest by residents, a local English newspaper said on Tuesday.

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The Daily Mirror reported that the incident happened after the elephant trampled the man to death while he was sleeping in his home and destroyed six houses in Sigiriya, a famous cultural facility 169 km northeast from the capital Colombo.

The residents launched a protest and blamed the Wild Life Department for not taking steps to protect their lives and property, the paper said.

The angry residents blocked the Sigiriya-Dambulla main road for a few hours while maintaining that they would not abandon the protest until Wild Life officials provided reasonable alternatives to the ongoing human-elephant conflict in the area.

There are about 5,000 wild elephants in Sri Lanka and many live in uncomfortably close proximity to man.

The conflicts between human beings and the wild elephants are frequent with farms being carved out of what was once jungle and the elephants' habitats getting smaller in the island.