Wild elephants on the loose
Habitat loss in India forces them to wander inside Bangladesh, ravage villages
Staff Correspondent
Driven by habitat loss in India, more than 100 wild elephants have crossed into the forests in the central region and are trampling life and property in frequent village raids. After making the shrinking Sherpur and Mymensingh forests their homes two years ago, the giant animals are killing about 40 people and damaging property worth about Tk 3 crore a year on average. "The elephants have emerged as a new scourge. They are raiding villages as their habitats have fragmented," said Syed Zaker Hossain, a leading wildlife expert. He said herds of the beasts used to visit Sherpur from northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya to drink water and eat fresh rice in the fields. But fragmentation of the habitat has forced them to stay in Bangladesh and raid villages for fodder. Focusing on the damage, a joint study of the Department of Forest and IUCN, the world conservation union, says the animals mostly damage crops, fruits and fruits trees, bamboo, houses and roads apart from killing people. "To stop these, elephant habitant needs to be preserved in Bangladesh," the study, Action Research on Conservation of Asian Elephants in Bangladesh, which will be launched soon said. "Local residents say the elephants don't want to return to their habitat because of disturbances such as vehicle movements on a newly-built highway and installation of search lights on the other side of the borders," said Monjurul Hannan Khan, programme coordinator of the IUCN. "A study should be carried out to find out the ways to settle the animals in Bangladesh permanently." Experts pointed out 10 threats to elephants: habitat loss, scarcity of fodder, disturbing elephant corridors, agricultural practice, human settlement in elephant roaming areas, illegal killing of elephants for meat, electrocution and landmines on Myanmar borders. A colony of 196 to 227 elephants still roam the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Cox's Bazar, Lama and Bandarban, a recent IUCN census said. About 83 to 100 migratory elephants occasionally cross the border and roam in Sylhet and Mymensingh. Loggers and circuses use 38 male and 56 female domesticated elephants. Officially 166 people were killed and 101 injured in elephant attacks and 22 of the animals poached across Bangladesh in the last five years.
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