Birth of calf in Cox's Bazar forest a ray of hope for dwindling Asian elephant population

The birth of an Asian elephant calf in the Cox's Bazar forest today has shone a ray of hope for the dwindling population of the giant mammal.

The elephant gave birth to the calf at Chakmar Ghona under Huyakkong Range of Cox's Bazar Forest Division (South).

Humayun Kabir, divisional forest officer of the division told The Daily Star that the forest staffers witnessed the incident while they were patrolling the forest this noon.

"It is heartening to see the elephant has given birth to a calf. The mother and its baby are safe and in sound health. We are guarding to make sure they can roam around safely", he said.

Around 130 elephants, categorised as critically endangered by IUCN, died most of them in shooting and electrocution in the last 20 years, according to a list of the Bangladesh Forest Department prepared at the beginning of this year.