Joynal Abedin Khan :
Animal lovers around the world, including Bangladesh, observed the World Elephant Day titled “Preserve elephants, protect green forest” on Wednesday.
According to forest officials, at present there are around 200 elephants more was over 350 five years ago. The elephants sprawl over the 14,200 sq kilometers of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh.
About a hundred years ago, elephants were
abundant in most of the forests of Bangladesh, including Madhupur, Mymensingh and Chittagong.
The number of the elephants is decreasing alarmingly due to killing, poaching and migrating in the recent years, they said.
The officials said at least four elephants were killed in the last seven months while the figure was seven in 2014. Besides, they added, four elephants were killed in 2010, three each in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The number of elephant has dropped down to 200 presently. Up to 30 per cent of Bangladesh’s elephant population is transient, migrating over the borders into neighboring India or Myanmar, they said.
On June 2, three elephants died from electrocution at Riverine Army Base in Kaptai of Rangamati.
A 20-year-old male elephant and eight-year-old two female elephants died after their trunks touched a live electric wire at the base, said Golam Mawla, Divisional Forest Officer of Wildlife in Chittagong. The electric wire was hanging only seven to eight-feet high from the street. Around 16 elephants now live in the area, he added.
The Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) pumped bullets and instantly two elephants died on April 21.
India must retrieve about 100 marauding elephants feared to have killed 13 people and injured dozens after straying over the border of Bangladesh, another source said.
Elephants killed 62 people and injured 157 in Bangladesh, mostly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in the last five years, the officials claimed.
According to Bangladesh Forest Division (FD) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), now the number of elephants is around 200 while the number was around 327 in 2004. Of them 186 have been living permanently and remain of them are living in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar temporary.
Yunus Ali, Chief of Forest Reservoir, said, “Elephants are facing serious problem due to barbed wire fence in the frontier areas during their moving.”
Bangladesh and India jointly taken proper steps to solve the problem to lead the smooth life of elephants, he said.
Monirul Hossain Khan, Professor of Zoology Department of Jahangirnagar University, said that elephants are decreasing as many establishments were built in the living and moving places of the creature. As a result, some times elephants entered into locality and killed people and people also killed elephants.
The Wildlife Society of Bangladesh President Kazi Zaker Husain has urged the Indian government to immediately take back about 100 elephants living in the Gozni area of the northern district of Sherpur. Unless the animals return to India, Bangladesh has the right to eliminate or destroy them with cooperation from the international community.
However, he did not say how many people were killed by the elephants, but the people of Sherpur said that residents estimated that at least 13 people were and 100 others injured in the last two years, as herds of up to 50 elephants roamed the area.
Animal lovers around the world, including Bangladesh, observed the World Elephant Day titled “Preserve elephants, protect green forest” on Wednesday.
According to forest officials, at present there are around 200 elephants more was over 350 five years ago. The elephants sprawl over the 14,200 sq kilometers of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in southeastern Bangladesh.
About a hundred years ago, elephants were
abundant in most of the forests of Bangladesh, including Madhupur, Mymensingh and Chittagong.
The number of the elephants is decreasing alarmingly due to killing, poaching and migrating in the recent years, they said.
The officials said at least four elephants were killed in the last seven months while the figure was seven in 2014. Besides, they added, four elephants were killed in 2010, three each in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The number of elephant has dropped down to 200 presently. Up to 30 per cent of Bangladesh’s elephant population is transient, migrating over the borders into neighboring India or Myanmar, they said.
On June 2, three elephants died from electrocution at Riverine Army Base in Kaptai of Rangamati.
A 20-year-old male elephant and eight-year-old two female elephants died after their trunks touched a live electric wire at the base, said Golam Mawla, Divisional Forest Officer of Wildlife in Chittagong. The electric wire was hanging only seven to eight-feet high from the street. Around 16 elephants now live in the area, he added.
The Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) pumped bullets and instantly two elephants died on April 21.
India must retrieve about 100 marauding elephants feared to have killed 13 people and injured dozens after straying over the border of Bangladesh, another source said.
Elephants killed 62 people and injured 157 in Bangladesh, mostly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, in the last five years, the officials claimed.
According to Bangladesh Forest Division (FD) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), now the number of elephants is around 200 while the number was around 327 in 2004. Of them 186 have been living permanently and remain of them are living in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar temporary.
Yunus Ali, Chief of Forest Reservoir, said, “Elephants are facing serious problem due to barbed wire fence in the frontier areas during their moving.”
Bangladesh and India jointly taken proper steps to solve the problem to lead the smooth life of elephants, he said.
Monirul Hossain Khan, Professor of Zoology Department of Jahangirnagar University, said that elephants are decreasing as many establishments were built in the living and moving places of the creature. As a result, some times elephants entered into locality and killed people and people also killed elephants.
The Wildlife Society of Bangladesh President Kazi Zaker Husain has urged the Indian government to immediately take back about 100 elephants living in the Gozni area of the northern district of Sherpur. Unless the animals return to India, Bangladesh has the right to eliminate or destroy them with cooperation from the international community.
However, he did not say how many people were killed by the elephants, but the people of Sherpur said that residents estimated that at least 13 people were and 100 others injured in the last two years, as herds of up to 50 elephants roamed the area.
