October 9, 2025
DHAKA – A dead rhinoceros was recovered from the Dudhkumar River in Bhurungamari upazila of Kurigram today.
Residents spotted the massive body stuck on a sandbar at Dakshin Chat Gopalpur village of Tilai union around noon. Forest officials suspect the animal was swept away by floodwaters from India’s Kaziranga National Park — a Unesco World Heritage site, or nearby forests in Assam.
Kamrul Islam, chairman of Tilai Union Parishad, said locals first alerted him of the unusual discovery. “When I went there, I saw it was a dead rhino, already decomposing. None of us has ever witnessed such a thing before,” he said.
Environmental activist Rafiqul Islam mentioned that in recent weeks, tree logs, dead cattle, fish, and snakes had floated downstream from India. “The arrival of a dead rhino shows how unstable the river’s ecosystem has become,” he said.
Kurigram Forest Officer Sadiqul Islam, Bhurungamari Upazila Forest Officer Sekendar Ali, and Jewel Rana, curator of the Jamuna Bridge Regional Museum, visited the site after receiving reports.
Sadiqul said the carcass was too large to move and would be buried safely on the river char. Rana added that the body had been covered with polythene and that once decomposition was complete, the bones would be collected and preserved for display at the museum.
“Preliminary observation suggests it is an Indian one-horned rhino, a species now found only in Assam, Nepal, and Bhutan,” Rana said.
“Rhinos went extinct in Bangladesh centuries ago, so this incident could be of significant value for environmental and zoological research,” he added.