Asian wild elephants are under serious threat in southeast Bangladesh due to the construction of huge settlements on forest land and hills which has shrunk the mammals’ habitat and restricted their free movement.
Uncontrolled grabbing of forest land and hills by local influential people is also ruining the biodiversity of the tourist hub of Cox’s Bazar, according to experts and researchers.
Among 268 endangered Asian elephants in Bangladesh, two-thirds live in Cox's Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts bordering India and Myanmar, according to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the government.
The elephant is a critically endangered species in Bangladesh, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
In the last two years, at least 13 Asian wild elephants have died unusually, including by gunshots, electric shock after being trapped in live wire snares, and food scarcity in the last two years in Cox's Bazar while three died in November alone in the district, according to media reports.
In August this year, a petition was filed with the High Court seeking government action, including a body to investigate the unnatural death of wild elephants in the Chattogram Division which also covers Cox’s Bazar. The body submitted a report that said some 106 elephants have died in Chattogram Forest circle in the last 19 years.
Shrinking habitat endangers Bangladesh’s wild elephants
Uncontrolled grabbing of forest land and hills by local influential people is also ruining the biodiversity of the tourist hub of Cox’s Bazar, according to experts and researchers.
Among 268 endangered Asian elephants in Bangladesh, two-thirds live in Cox's Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts bordering India and Myanmar, according to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the government.
The elephant is a critically endangered species in Bangladesh, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
In the last two years, at least 13 Asian wild elephants have died unusually, including by gunshots, electric shock after being trapped in live wire snares, and food scarcity in the last two years in Cox's Bazar while three died in November alone in the district, according to media reports.
In August this year, a petition was filed with the High Court seeking government action, including a body to investigate the unnatural death of wild elephants in the Chattogram Division which also covers Cox’s Bazar. The body submitted a report that said some 106 elephants have died in Chattogram Forest circle in the last 19 years.
Shrinking habitat endangers Bangladesh’s wild elephants