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Tusker Kawanthissa, one of the largest and tallest elephants in Sri Lanka, died on October 16 after weeks of treatment for a gunshot wound, and his death quickly became one of the most talked-about stories in the country. As grief and anger spread online, posts blaming various parties flooded social media.
Alongside them came fabricated statements, dressed up in the logos of trusted news outlets and attributed to the Prime Minister, the President, local officials, and a journalist. We fact-checked five of the most widely shared claims. Here are the posts that carried them.
Social Media Posts: Claim 1
A post carrying the Ada Derana logo claimed that the Environment Minister had said businessman Dudley Sirisena offered space at the Araliya Hotel to preserve Kawanthissa’s pair of tusks.
Fact Check
We found no credible media report that Dudley Sirisena offered space at the Araliya Hotel to preserve the tusks, or that the Environment Minister made such statement. What Dudley Sirisena actually made was a genuine offer of assistance to cover the tusker’s treatment costs. That offer was twisted into a false claim about preserving the tusks.
Ministry of Environment Clarifies What Will Happen to the Tusks
The Media Secretary to the Deputy Minister of Environment issued a letter on these posts, which misused the Minister’s photograph and the Ada Derana logo.
The letter explained that Kawanthissa’s tusks were part of a court process and set out what would happen to them next.
Tusks Must Be Handed to Court Along With the Skull
According to the Ministry’s letter, the facts were reported to the Galgamuwa Magistrate’s Court, which has jurisdiction over the area where the elephant died, and the post-mortem examination was carried out on a court order. Because the court order required both the skull and the tusks to be produced in court, the tusks were not separated from the skull.
The flesh and brain tissue attached to the skull take about two months to decompose naturally. The letter stated that the skull was therefore buried in a pit dug with a backhoe on the grounds of the Meegalewa Wildlife Range Office, under the supervision of the Range Officer, with round-the-clock security. At the end of that period, it was to be exhumed, cleaned and handed over to the court.
Tusks and Skull Could Go to the National Museum With Court Approval
The Ministry letter also stated that, once the court proceedings ended, the tusks and skull could be handed over to the National Museum with the court’s permission, as discussed with Additional Director General Manjula Amarathna. This was a possibility subject to court approval, not a final decision. The letter made no proposal to hand the tusks to any private hotel or institution.
Media Reports Confirm the Galgamuwa Court Order
News reports stated that on October 17, 2026, Galgamuwa Acting Magistrate Kanchana Hathurusinghe ordered a post-mortem examination on Kawanthissa. The court also ordered that the carcass be buried safely on land belonging to the Department of Wildlife Conservation, in a way that would allow the tusks to be recovered later, and that adequate security be provided at the site.
The orders followed submissions by Meegalewa Wildlife Office officer W. Weerakoon and other officials. The report added that the case would be called again on a later date before Galgamuwa Chief Magistrate Ravindra Ranjan Bandara. News reports also stated that body samples were sent to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the University of Peradeniya to establish the exact cause of death.
Social Media Posts: Claim 2
A post circulated on social media claiming that Galgamuwa Divisional Secretary Chaminda Prasad had said: “Tusker Kawanthissa caused a lot of trouble for the public. Many people from Galgamuwa and Nambuttegama complained to the President. I was advised from above to consider that too before treating the elephant.
Fact Check
We first checked mainstream media for any report of Galgamuwa Divisional Secretary Chaminda Prasad making such a statement. We found none.
We also checked the Top News Facebook page credited in the post. Top News had published no such story and had posted a clarification saying so.
Galgamuwa Divisional Secretary Denies Making the Statement
We contacted Galgamuwa Divisional Secretary Chaminda Prasad by phone. He told us the posts attributing the statement to him were false and that he never made any such statement. He said that, amid the public anger directed at him after Kawanthissa’s death, false statements were being spread to drag the government into it as well.
He added that although he and other officials did what was needed for Kawanthissa and the other elephants in the area, they faced baseless accusations and blame, and this post was another such fabrication.
Social Media Posts: Claim 3
A post carrying the BBC Sinhala logo and a photograph of Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya claimed that she had announced a decision to preserve the two tusks of the dead tusker Kawanthissa.
Fact Check
We first checked the official BBC Sinhala Facebook page for any post quoting the Prime Minister on preserving Kawanthissa’s tusks and confirmed that no such post existed. We also confirmed that BBC Sinhala does not use the post format seen in the viral image on its official Facebook page. Neither BBC Sinhala nor any recognised mainstream media outlet had reported any other statement by the Prime Minister about Kawanthissa.
Prime Minister’s Media Division Confirms the Post Is False
We asked Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya’s Media Secretary about the viral post. She said the Prime Minister made no such statement and that the post was completely false.
Social Media Posts: Claim 4
This post, carrying the official Hiru News logo, claimed that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had instructed the Army Commander to provide army protection for Kawanthissa’s carcass, and that steps would be taken to preserve the tusks and display them for future generations.
Fact Check
We confirmed that the official Hiru News Facebook page had not published any such statement attributed to the President after Kawanthissa’s death. No other mainstream media outlet had reported it either.
Presidential Media Division Confirms the Post Is False
When we inquired, the Presidential Media Division also confirmed that there was no truth to the post attributed to the President.
Social Media Posts: Claim 5
This post, made to look like an official Newsfirst Facebook graphic, claimed that investigative journalist Tharindu Jayawardhana had said Kawanthissa was shot by two Army intelligence personnel who came from the Giritale camp.
Fact Check
Our checks confirmed that Newsfirst’s official Facebook page had not published any post carrying this statement attributed to journalist Tharindu Jayawardhana about Kawanthissa, who died on October 16. The Manager of Newsfirst’s Digital Division also confirmed that no post like the one circulating on social media had been published on its official Facebook page.
Tharindu Jayawardhana also posted on his Facebook account that he never made such a statement and that it was part of a conspiratorial campaign being run by a certain group.
Kawanthissa Was Buried in the Siyambalangamuwa Paddy Field
Our regional correspondent said that Kawanthissa, who died on October 16 after collapsing in a paddy field in Siyambalangamuwa, was buried in the same paddy field on the afternoon of October 17. He added that body samples were taken to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the University of Peradeniya for the post-mortem examination.
Wildlife Department Explains How Kawanthissa Was Treated
At a press conference on October 17, Director General of Wildlife Conservation Marasinghe said that Kawanthissa, one of the largest and tallest elephants in Sri Lanka, was reported to have been shot in the leg on September 23, and that treatment began the following day. The elephant was given antibiotics to heal the wound, and as it improved, officers monitored him for about a week.
About a week later, however, the tusker developed diarrhea and refused food. The Director General said treatment was resumed, with a team of veterinarians consulting together on his care.
He added that diarrhea and refusal of food had weakened the elephant, which made sedation risky. Instead, the team treated him with antibiotics, vitamin supplements, and other medicines.
Kawanthissa kept refusing food and collapsed on the morning of October 16. Veterinarians continued treating him with saline, energy-boosting drugs, and antibiotics, but he died that afternoon. Full details here.
Veterinarian Rejects Antibiotic Overdose Allegation
At a press conference held at the Ministry of Environment on October 17, veterinarian Chandana Jayasinghe rejected the allegation that Kawanthissa died from an antibiotic overdose. He explained that the gunshot wound had swollen, leaving the elephant unable to walk and suffering from an infection, and that antibiotics were essential for the wound to heal. Rejecting the overdose allegation, he said the elephant was given only the prescribed dose.
Environmentalist Alleges Kawanthissa’s Death Was a Killing
Environmentalist Nayanaka Ranwella alleged that Kawanthissa did not simply die but was killed. He said one party responsible was whoever shot the elephant. The other, he claimed, was the wildlife veterinary team, which he accused of rushing the elephant towards death under the guise of treating him. Nayanaka Ranwella’s full allegation is here.
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Conclusion
Our fact-check found that the posts circulating after the death of tusker Kawanthissa, attributed to Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, journalist Tharindu Jayawardhana, the Galgamuwa Divisional Secretary and the Environment Minister, were a series of fabrications.
The Ministry of Environment, the Prime Minister’s Media Secretary, the Presidential Media Division, Galgamuwa Divisional Secretary Chaminda Prasad, Newsfirst’s Digital Division and Tharindu Jayawardhana himself all confirmed the statements were false, and the outlets whose logos were used had published no such posts.
Kawanthissa’s tusks and skull remained part of a case before the Galgamuwa Magistrate’s Court. Any handover to the National Museum depended on court approval, and there was no plan to give them to a private hotel.
