CHATTOGRAM, Nov 28: Once considered a safe abode for wild elephants, Bangladesh's hills and forest lands, which have shrunk considerably in the last few decades, is becoming unsafe for the animal habitation.
As months and years go by, forest lands are getting narrow and elephant population are declining. Number of elephants is decreasing as the animals are getting killed by the locals in Chattogram, Cox's Bazar and three districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts or CHT, sources said.
Local administration sources said scores of elephants got killed by local people in those areas in the last few years. One elephant was killed at Chunoti in Satghor union under Lohagara upazila in Chattogram district recently. An official said carcass of the slain animal was found in a hilly ditch in the area this (Sunday) morning.
Shafiqul Islam, Forest Officer of Chattogram South Zone, said that the elephant was 2 years old. A team is working to recover the carcass from the ditch, he said. The post mortem will be done to ascertain the cause of its death after recovery of the elephant's body.
With this, at least half a dozen elephants were killed in Chattogram district, according to the zonal office of the forest department.
Officials at the regional forest department office in the port city said, a total of 22 elephants were killed in 2020 in greater Chattogram and 11 were killed in the region in 2019. In the 11 months of the current year (from January 01 to November 27) a total of 11 elephants were killed in greater Chattogram region.
These elephants, also known as Asian elephants, often come to different areas in Rangunia, Raojan, Rajostholi, Satkania, Lohagar, Banshkhali, Potia and Boalkhali in Chattogram and Chokoria, Ramu and other hilly areas of Cox's Bazar district. The wild elephants damage paddy and other crops in cropland, locals said.
During their stay in the locality, many animals get killed by the villagers, the forest department and local police officials said.
The officials said usually the Asian elephants come to the localities or villages in search of food as their habitat in forests are getting shrunk days by day due to encroachment by people from neighbouring districts or upazilas. Besides, elephants are also facing a crisis of herbs, banana trees and other forest-born trees as large forest lands or wilderness is depleting day by day with the expansion of human habitat into those areas.
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