Camera traps unveil enigmatic crop raiders in Udawalawe, Sri Lanka

We studied Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) entering three villages bordering the Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka, by placing camera traps on road openings of the boundary electric fence of the park. We identified 35 individuals that crossed the fence, all of which were males. Identified individuals were of differing age/size classes and the majority were solitary. Elephants left the park at dusk and retuned at dawn. Individual variation was observed in method and time of fence crossing. Elephants showed localized movement over the small area of the study. Our results suggest a high degree of crop raiding by males in the area and underscore the failure of current management activities in preventing human-elephant conflict