Sri Lankan authorities yesterday returned six orphaned and injured elephants to the wild after nursing them back to health under a long-running conservation project, officials said.
Two females and four males, aged between five and seven, were released into the Mau Ara forest within the Udawalawe Wildlife Sanctuary, Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi said.
He said it was the 26th such release of rehabilitated elephants since the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home began its programme in 1998.
“We hope, in the interest of conserving elephants, we will be able to improve facilities at this transit home in the near future,” Patabendi said.
The calves were transported in trucks and then allowed to walk free because they were deemed strong enough to fend for themselves or join wild herds.
Baby elephants have minimal contact with humans at the transit home to ease their integration into wild herds.

Baby elephants are released by Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home into the Mau Ara forest area within the Udawalawe Wildlife Sanctuary in the country's southern region.