Tragic footage shows wild elephants eating from garbage dump in Sri Lanka

In a heartbreaking video, a herd of wild elephants can be seen eating leftover food from a dump site in Sri Lanka.

The visual came out of Minneriya National Park of Maradankadawala in Habarana on May 18.

The video shows a garbage truck arriving at a clearing in the forest.

Following this, two men can be seen dumping the garbage and feeding it to a wild elephant emerging out of the forest.

A herd of at least eight elephants can be seen feeding on the rotten vegetable leftovers from the market dumped in the area.

Eating garbage may lead to many chronic diseases in the giants.

The plastic contained in the trash is also harmful when ingested and makes them potential targets for poachers.

Reportedly in the dry season (June-September), the elephants try to find food waste in garbage piles along the roads running between protected areas like Hurulu Wewa Forest Reserve – Kawudulla National Park, Kawudulla – Minneriya National Park.