Fund crisis leaves Sonakata Eco-park animals hungry

Animals in Sonakata Eco-Park in Tangargiri reserve forest under Taltoli upazila of Barguna are facing food crisis due to scanty allocation by the authorities concerned.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ajit Kumer Rudhro said they released 27 boars and 7 fishing cats on October 28 last year due to shortage of food for them.

The forest department built the Sonakata Eco-park in 2011-12 fiscal year under the Forest and Environment Ministry on about 10,000 acres of land under the 'Increase of opportunities in Eco-tourism' programme.

“We get allocation of only Tk 1.5 lakh annually, but we need Tk 7 lakh to meet the demand for food. Taltali Upazila Parishad gives Tk 50,000 every year as local allocation, but that is insufficient,” the DFO said.

At the beginning, there were about 200 animals of different species in the eco-park, including over 100 monkeys, 10 deer, 25 boars, 3 leopards, 25 pythons, two crocodiles, and two porcupines. Now there are only 14 deer and two crocodiles.

“Three kg of poultry are fed to the crocodiles every two days. We have to manage food somehow when the allocation ends,” Ajit added.

Management activities are being hampered due to manpower shortage. Four people were posted there on Sunday to strengthen security after a tourist was killed by a crocodile.

The dead, Asaduzzaman Ronny, 29, was from Mathbaria upazila of Pirojpur.

Beat Officer Sajib Kumar Majumder of Sakhina Beat Office said the accident took place when the victim scaled the eight-foot high wall of the crocodile enclosure and put his hand in the pond to find out if there was any crocodile there.

The victim's companions and forest guards tried to rescue him but failed, Sajib added.