In a photograph that captures the plight of the largest living land animals, a lone Sri Lankan elephant is seen walking amid a vast expanse of plastic waste.

What's happening?

Photographer Lakshitha Karunarathna won the London Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year award with his drone shot of an elephant looking for food in a Sri Lankan landfill.

Elephants have begun feeding on landfills due to the loss of their natural habitats, Karunarathna explained to the Natural History Museum.

Endangered Sri Lankan elephants typically reside in forests and eat the plants that live there. However, humans have cut down forests to make way for villages and towns, leading to the fragmentation of elephants' habitat. The hungry animals are now wandering into human settlements — and dining on their waste.

This issue is not unique to Sri Lanka. Bornean elephants became endangered as a result of habitat loss caused by human activities, and the destruction of animals' natural environments has led to a drop in wildlife populations around the world.

Why is plastic waste concerning?

Elephants have developed a taste for the salt, sugar, and starch that make up many human diets. But as they attempt to dine on the edible human waste in landfills, they also ingest the plastic that comes along with it. 

"This is tragically getting stuck in their digestive systems, causing severe blockages, malnutrition, and often even death," Karunarathna said.

Instead of breaking down like organic matter, petroleum-derived plastics break off into smaller pieces called microplastics. 

The ingestion of these tiny particles has been linked to various health issues in humans, but researchers are still trying to determine exactly how they affect the long-term well-being of humans and animals.

What's being done about elephants consuming plastic waste?

Sri Lanka has tried to prevent elephants from accessing landfills by digging moats and building electric fences, according to the BBC, but the tenacious and intelligent animals keep finding ways around the barriers.

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The best way to prevent elephants from eating plastic is to make sure it doesn't wind up in the landfill in the first place. 

While the issue might seem insurmountable, any changes you can make to reduce your plastic consumption can reduce demand for plastic products and ensure that fewer plastic items wind up in landfills.

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