Elephants are considered sacred animals in Sri Lanka and a judicial inquiry is required before one can be buried.
Gunaratne said the centre had assembled a team of a dozen vets to treat Neelagiri while Buddhist monks had also been called in to invoke blessings on the animal in an effort to save his life. "Sadly, we failed," he said. Zoological department director Baashwara Gunaratne said the elephant, named Neelagiri, had died of wounds suffered when its keepers had poked it with sharp implements in November at the Pinnawela orphanage.
"We consider this a very serious matter and we also calling the police to investigate in addition our own internal departmental inquiry," Gunaratne said.
"We will take stern action against officials who failed to supervise mahouts."
The orphanage, in a coconut grove about 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Colombo, is a major tourist attraction.
Formally established in 1975, the orphanage shelters more than 70 elephants, most of them abandoned or separated