Panamure Elephant is the king of the Elephant Group,who lived on Panamure jungle,near Panamure village,near to Rathnapura Town.Last few month I got a opportunity to read the book called Panamure Elephant.The author of the book was Piyasena Kahadagamage.I would like to share this elephant story in this blog.
Panamure is a village located in the Ratnapura District of the Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. The Panamure Elephant was the leader of a large herd of 22 elephants, including both adult and young elephants, living in Panamure.
In 1950, an elephant kraal (traditional elephant capture) was organized by Sir Francis Molamure to capture this herd. Although the group was caught, the Panamure Elephant proved uncontrollable. He managed to direct and protect the other elephants, attempting to free them from the trap. Eventually, people were able to control the herd — all except the Panamure Elephant.
They attempted to release him by opening the barriers, but he refused to leave his herd. The captured elephants were kept confined for over 30 days. During this time, new elephant calves were born, and the elder female elephants began producing milk to feed the newborns, making the situation increasingly difficult to manage.
Finally, Sir Francis Molamure decided to kill the Panamure Elephant to resolve the situation. According to the rules at the time, an elephant had to be killed with a single bullet. The Sri Lankan Police attempted to carry this out but failed. Sir Francis then sought a skilled marksman and eventually found a man named Kadiragaman, who successfully shot and killed the Panamure Elephant.
Following the incident, the opposition party (the Communist Party) organized protests against the government. As a result, the government introduced a parliamentary rule banning elephant kraals in the future.
Thus, the 1950 Panamure Elephant Kraal became the last elephant kraal ever held in Sri Lanka. Due to his sacrifice, the Panamure Elephant became a revered symbol — remembered as the elephant who gave freedom to Sri Lanka's wild elephants.