The Department of Wildlife Conservation in partnership with community agricultural societies and local agrarian banks officially commissioned a 14-kilometer smart solar electric fence and designated wildlife migratory corridor in Wanathawilluwa, Puttalam, today, October 1, 2026.

Situated immediately south of Wilpattu National Park, Wanathawilluwa is an active agricultural frontier dominated by cashew, coconut, and seasonal field crop farming. As seasonal dry conditions deplete jungle water holes, herds of wild elephants frequently traverse settled farmland seeking water bodies in the Kala Oya basin, leading to crop damage and hazardous encounters between farmers and elephants. Rather than attempting to block elephant movements entirely, the newly constructed fence establishes an uninhibited, 500-meter-wide natural forest corridor linking Wilpattu with adjacent forest reserves, allowing herds to access traditional watering points safely.

The 14-kilometer solar fence is engineered with high-tensile galvanized wire, smart energizers delivering non-lethal, high-voltage pulses, and automated GSM break-detection sensors that notify wildlife rangers the instant a fence line is severed by falling branches or elephant contact. The fence was constructed on an innovative 'community-managed' model: local farming cooperatives were provided with maintenance equipment, replacement insulators, and monthly maintenance stipends, taking collective ownership of daily fence inspections.

Wildlife rangers reported that pilot segments of the corridor have already successfully guided multiple elephant herds through agricultural zones without a single recorded crop raid or property damage incident. Community leaders expressed deep relief, emphasizing that modern, respectful wildlife corridors provide a humane and sustainable blueprint for peaceful co-existence between farming communities and Sri Lanka's iconic wild elephants.