In Sri Lanka nearly 120 elephants are killed by humans and in return about 65 people die after being attacked by elephants every year. The number of cases of elephants being killed or run over by trains could be reduced if the train staff take precautions by giving the elephants enough warning in advance when they spot the elephants close to the rail tracks, Managing Trustee of the Bio Diversity and Elephant Conservation Trust and leading expert on Asian elephants and former planter Jayantha Jayawardena said. He was addressing the members of the Rotary Club of Kandy presided over by Rotarian Ayesha Wijeratne at the Queens Hotel, Kandy. In most instances, when elephants roam close to the rail tracks with a baby elephant, the mother fears for the safety of the baby and tries to go across. In the process, they might be run over by the train. If the horn is sounded much early, these accidents could be prevented, he said. Jayawardena said elephants in Sri Lanka are highly threatened. He said the clearing of forests for human settlement is one of the main reasons. It is an encrochment. Elephants are agitated when they are threatened by those settlements. This gives rise to the conflict, he said. Jayawardena said the conflicts between human beings and elephants are growing and the absence of a proper plan may worsen the problem. A new policy on Elephant Management and Conservation approved by the Cabinet was in place. The Wildlife Conservation Department will map out a plan that would help the conservation of elephants in the long term. It is also necessary to amend the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, he added. He said in Sri Lanka there are 4,000 to 4,500 elephants and like human beings they live upto 70 years. Elephants breed once in every four years and the gestation period is 22 months. There are only 139 tamed elephants in Sri Lanka excluding the ones at Pinnawela and others in transit and captured for breeding. He also said the issue relating to elephants in Handapanagla has been solved to some extent.