Ertrunken.....Baby elephant drowned in Sri Lanka floods

While looking for news on recent February floods in Sri Lanka I found this photo from January.../ Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa

Während ich nach Nachrichten zu den Überschwemmungen in Sri Lanka im Februar schaute, fand ich dieses Foto vom letzten Monat, als Sri Lankas Bevölkerung zum ersten Mal im neuen Jahr von Überschwemmungen heimgesucht wurde.

Dieser junge Elefant hängt hoch in einem Baum, ertrunken durch den reißenden Strom der Wassermassen, der Wasserstand des Kaloya Flusses stieg 5.5m über seinen Normalstand.

Flood-hit Sri Lankan elephant calf found dead in tree 13 January 2011 (BBC) – An image has emerged from Sri Lanka of a dead elephant calf stuck high in a tree after getting caught up in the country's fast-flowing floods. The animal was found near the Kaloya river in northern Sri Lanka, which rose 18ft (5.5m) above its normal height. Local villagers alerted photographer Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa, who took the picture on Thursday. He believes the photo will be a defining image of the country's recent heavy flooding. "I have been working as a journalist for the last 10 years but this is likely to be one of the strangest photos I will ever take in my career," Mr Ariyadasa told the BBC. "The animal is still stuck in the tree as we speak while wildlife officials work out the best way to get it down to conduct a post-mortem examination." Thousands of animals - including elephants, snakes, water buffaloes and livestock - are thought to have perished in the floods. More than 30,000 army, navy, police and air force personnel are currently battling to provide urgent aid to people hit by the disaster. At least 23 people have died and more than a million have been affected by the flooding, which the government says has displaced more than 325,000 people.

Source:
- Flood-hit Sri Lankan elephant calf found dead in tree/ BBC 13.01.2011