A female elephant, aged about 25 years, and two baby elephants aged about 10 months and two years, and another eight-year-old female were found dead on Sunday (May 08) just outside the Wilpattu wildlife sanctuary.

According to the officials, villagers of Mahavilachchiya in Anuradhapura district found the bodies of the four elephants and alerted the authorities.

"Villagers from neighboring areas alerted the authorities and we carried out autopsies," wildlife veterinary surgeon Chandana Jayasinghe said. "The deaths were caused by lightning."

The elephants were thought to have been struck by lightning during the heavy thunderstorms the area experienced on Friday.

The deaths were one of the worst wildlife tragedies to hit the country in years, officials said.