Skip to content
Sri Lanka's wildlife encyclopedia
Temple tusker · Bellanwila

Myan Kumara

මියන් කුමාර மியன் குமார

Myan Kumara
Sumudusoyza007 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A photo of a Sri Lankan Elephant — not this animal

A tusker gifted by the government of Myanmar to the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya in 2013, when he was about seven. He has walked in the Kandy Esala Perahera and carried the relic casket at Bellanwila. In February 2018 he pushed the temple’s chief monk, Ven. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera, to the ground, and the monk died the next day. In 2020 videos of a keeper mistreating him led Myanmar to ask Sri Lanka to stop the abuse.

Sources

  1. Pachyderm prince of Bellanwila — Sunday Observer, 10 Mar 2019
  2. Curtain falls on Esala festival with Bellanwila Perahera — Sunday Times, 25 Aug 2013
  3. Sri Lanka elephant kills top Buddhist monk — WION, 4 Feb 2018
  4. Myanmar urges SL to stop abuse of elephant — Daily Mirror, 31 Jan 2020
Report a bug / suggest

Found a problem or have an idea?

Tell us. We read every message and reply when it's done.

What is it about?

We'll email you when we reply. Never shown to anyone.

What visitors told us →