🍬 A significant 18-year study published by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, confirms that tourist interactions involving feeding are leading to deadly consequences for Asian elephants in Sri Lanka and India. The research, detailed in the latest issue of the journal Conservation Biology, highlights how elephants have become conditioned to solicit food along roadsides, abandoning their natural foraging behaviors in favor of begging for sugary and processed snacks from people. This seemingly harmless act has created a cycle of dependency and danger for both species.⁠ ⁠ The study documents a sharp increase in human-elephant conflict in the observed areas. Elephants have grown bolder and more aggressive in their pursuit of food, leading to injuries and fatalities among tourists and locals. The animals themselves face immense risks, including a higher rate of traffic accidents as they linger on busy roads. Furthermore, post-mortem examinations of deceased elephants ha...