"December was an alarming month as there were five tuskers which were reportedly killed. There may have been some unreported cases too," Abhayagunawardena said.

A 23-year-old animal lover, Savindri Perera told Xinhua that China's decision to ban the sale of ivory was welcomed not only in the island country but also across the world.

She said China was one of the most powerful countries in the world and this sent a strong message to other countries that the killing of elephants will not be tolerated.

China closed its doors to the ivory trade on Dec. 31 when it declared it illegal to process or sell ivory and its products in China.

The current partial ban in China has already led to an 80 percent decline in seizures of ivory entering China, as well as a 65 percent decline in raw ivory prices.

Some 35,000 African elephants are killed annually to feed this illegal trade, while in the past decade alone, 75 percent of African elephants were slaughtered. Environmentalists have voiced grave concern that at this rate, elephants could face extinction by 2025.

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