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Sri Lanka was still arguing over the death of Kavantissa, regarded as the largest elephant in the country, when a fresh alarm went up over another famous tusker. A Facebook post claimed that a villager had shot Agbo near Sippikulam and that no one knew where the wounded elephant had gone. Agbo has survived gunshots before, so the claim struck a nerve. Here is the post that spread it.
Social Media Posts:
The post appeared on October 18, 2026, on a Facebook page that shares wildlife content. It said a villager shot Agbo in the Sippikulam area on the night of October 17, and it carried a photo of the elephant.
“Agbo the elephant was shot in the Sippikulam area last night. The word is that a villager shot him.
Since he was shot, there’s been no sign of which way Agbo went.
It’s the minister who handed out guns, telling people to treat any animal that comes to the farmland as a pest. And the wretched bunch at wildlife are the ones who should answer for this.
Until a person who loves animals gets one of those big chairs at wildlife, this game won’t stop.
I sincerely pray that what happened to Kavantissa doesn’t happen to Agbo.”
Claim Under Review: Was the elephant Agbo shot in the Sippikulam area on the night of October 17, 2026?
Fact-Check:
Before the shock of Kavantissa’s death had faded, attention turned to Agbo, as rumours spread on social media and elsewhere that he too had been shot.
Agbo Was Found Safe at Nachchaduwa in a Special Operation
At the Environment Minister’s request and on the Defence Secretary’s orders, a team of wildlife officers and Army personnel launched a special operation on October 18, 2026 to find Agbo in the Thirappane forest. On October 19, security personnel, including officers from the Thirappane wildlife conservation office, found him in the Nachchaduwa tank sanctuary.
The Sri Lanka Army reported the find with photos of Agbo and made no mention of a gunshot wound. Quoting a wildlife officer, the Army said the elephant was in good health.
No Mainstream Media Outlet Reported That Agbo Was Shot
Mainstream media covered the search and Agbo’s discovery widely (here, here and here). None of them reported that he had been shot.
After the operation, news channels also aired the video below, in which officers including Thirappane Range Assistant Buddhika Athukorala stood near the elephant, explained his condition and said the social media claims were false.
Thirappane Range Assistant: “Posts Saying He Was Shot Are Completely False”
We spoke by phone to Buddhika Athukorala, Range Assistant at the Thirappane wildlife beat office, who led the team that searched for Agbo. He said the posts claiming Agbo had been shot were completely false.
He said Agbo was in good health and in musth, and that wildlife officers were monitoring him constantly. His team had observed Agbo after the operation as well, when the elephant was near a herd. He added that the false reports of a shooting were the reason the security forces joined the search this time.
On October 19, the Department of Wildlife Conservation also posted on its official Facebook page, with video, that Agbo had been found in the Nachchaduwa tank sanctuary. It said officers had observed that the elephant was healthy and in musth.
Regional Journalists Also Rejected the Claim
We also checked with regional journalists. They confirmed that the posts claiming Agbo was shot in the Sippikulam area were false.
Agbo Has Been Shot Before
Around June 2023, a trap gun went off in the Thirappane area and badly injured Agbo’s front left leg. While wildlife officers and veterinarians were treating him for months, the media reported in October that year that he had been shot at again. After he recovered, residents of villages around Thirappane said he came looking for food and damaged crops, home gardens and houses. In July 2024, a youth was reported to have shot the elephant in the eye with a catapult.
In November 2025, the media reported, with video and photos, that Agbo had come to the Mahakanadarawa tank bed in search of his herd.
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Conclusion:
The social media posts claiming that Agbo was shot on the night of October 17, 2026 are false.
Security forces and wildlife officers began searching for him on October 18 and found him in the Nachchaduwa tank sanctuary on October 19. The Sri Lanka Army, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Range Assistant Buddhika Athukorala, who led the operation, all confirmed that the elephant was in good health, and no evidence of a gunshot was found.
