"Survival of the fittest human- elephant conflict and its impact on the sustainable development

Abstract

The history o f human race has the record of living in the forest where man has to manage his livelihood with the sources available in the forest. First he was hunting animals and birds for meals and fruits for his survival. In that forest environment he has to face the threats of certain animals of which elephant is one. Beside elephant has been the asset of man because of its tusk with which h is very proud of its existence. Normally elephant keep this tusk bright and sharp. Apart from this man is also very fond of elephant because with its help he could remove many kinds of obstacles such as defending threats o f other people or animals and to transport his goods and materials. Then in the course of time, man has come to make use of the assistance of the elephant for fighting against enemies. This was kept by the kings for defending enemies. The lords also had the habits of keeping elephants for pleasure. There were selected people who used to train the elephants for the use of man. In this way elephant was regarded and respected as an asset Even now elephant are the main assets o f Sri Lanka and the government also very much interested in preserving and conserving the elephant spices.