March 3, 2025
DHAKA – Over the past decade, nearly half of the country’s wild elephant population has been wiped out.
These gentle giants, which once roamed freely across Bangladesh’s lush forests, have been falling victim to human-elephant conflict, driven by relentless deforestation and habitat loss.
In the last 10 years, at least 124 wild elephants were killed across Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and Mymensingh regions. Many fell prey to retaliatory killings, electrocution, poaching, and train accidents.
Conversely, 83 people have also been killed in elephant encounters during this period. Yet, the government’s response has been limited, with few visible actions to prevent further losses.
According to a 2016 survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there were only 457 elephants in the country, including 268 wild elephants, 93 migratory elephants, and 96 in captivity.
The study found that from 2003 to 2015 (13 years), 63 wild elephants were killed, clearly indicating that the rate of elephant killings has doubled in the last decade.
However, it was not determined how many of the recorded deaths involved migratory elephants.
Meanwhile, a circus elephant died in Lalmonirhat in 2019 due to extreme stress, while a captive elephant calf was killed after being hit by a train in Uttara, Dhaka, in 2023.
WOES OF THE WILD
With Bangladesh’s forests disappearing at an alarming rate, conservationists fear these magnificent creatures may soon vanish from the country altogether.
According to data from the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division (WMNCD) under the forest department, at least 102 wild elephants were killed in the Chattogram region alone in the past decade (2016-Jan 2025).
Data obtained by The Daily Star showed that 16 died from electrocution, while five were shot dead. The Wildlife Division reported that 53 elephants died from “old-age complications” or “natural causes” such as heart failure. At least 17 died from accidents, while the causes of the remaining deaths could not be determined.
During this period, 44 people died in human-elephant conflicts in the region.
Conservationists, however, argue that all the elephant deaths resulted from human intervention.
Despite the scale of the crisis, only 18 cases have been filed for the killing of elephants.
One such incident involved Ali Akbar, a 36-year-old welder from Chattogram’s Karnaphuli upazila.
One night, upon stepping out of his home, he encountered an elephant nearby. Fearing it might trample his home and family, he attempted to chase it away, triggering the animal’s “fight or flight” instinct.
Within moments, Akbar was crushed to death.
“He was the sole breadwinner of the family… His death has left us in turmoil,” said Akbar’s wife, Minu Akter.
Over the past six years (2019-2024), such incidents in Chattogram have claimed 44 lives, left at least 33 injured, and destroyed the property of 382 families.
The Wildlife Division attributes these encounters to habitat destruction and food shortages, which force wild elephants into human settlements.
“Deforestation, hill-cutting, and industrial expansion are driving elephants out of their habitats and into human settlements,” said Abu Naser Md Yasin Newaz, divisional forest officer of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division in Chattogram.
Meanwhile, 22 elephants and 39 people have died in human-elephant conflicts in the Mymensingh region since 2016, said ANM Abdul Wadud, divisional forest officer in Mymensingh.
Three cases were filed with Nalitabari and Jhenaigati police stations in 2023 and 2024 regarding the deaths of three elephants.
Additionally, a total of seven general diaries were filed with different police stations over elephant deaths, Wadud said.
According to forest department sources, elephant deaths were recorded as follows: four each in 2016 and 2017, three in 2018, one in 2019, two in 2020, two in 2021, three in 2022, two in 2023, and one in 2024.
WHY THIS CONFLICT AND WHAT CAN BE DONE
MA Aziz, a professor of zoology at Jahangirnagar University who has dedicated his career to studying elephants, warned that wild elephants are currently the most vulnerable species in Bangladesh.
“An elephant needs around 200-250kg of vegetation and 150 litres of water daily. But their habitats can no longer provide these… So, they wander into human settlements, desperately looking for food. And that’s where tragedy strikes.”
Bangladesh has never launched a long-term conservation initiative for elephants, he said. “If the government does not take immediate action, Bangladesh may no longer be one of the 13 Asian countries with wild elephants within the next decade.”
Simanta Dipu, programme manager at IUCN, said, “In 2016, the IUCN recorded only 457 elephants in Bangladesh. A century ago, these creatures roamed freely across the country’s forests.”
Human settlements, agricultural lands, roads, highways, brickfields, and village markets have developed within or near elephant movement routes and corridors, exacerbating human-elephant conflicts, he said.
Amir Hossain Chowdhury, chief conservator of forests (CCF), admitted that most elephant deaths occur due to human-elephant conflicts. Of the 12 elephant corridors that once existed, one in Ramu and two in Teknaf have already been completely closed.
An elephant corridor is a narrow strip of land that allows elephants to move between habitats without human interference.
“We need to involve local communities to save these elephants,” Amir said, adding, “We’ve submitted a project proposal to the Planning Commission for elephant conservation.”
The proposed “Elephant Conservation Project,” if approved, will be Bangladesh’s first government-funded elephant conservation initiative since independence. Under it, the forest department will conduct an elephant census in 2026 to estimate the remaining elephant population.
With a budget of Tk 41 crore, the three-year pilot project aims to support elephant response teams with funding and logistics, raise public awareness, and install solar fencing to prevent elephants from straying into human settlements.
Solar fencing, which delivers a harmless shock, is expected to deter elephants while protecting villages from destruction. Currently, farmers set up illegal electric fences to keep elephants away from their farmlands, leading to fatal consequences for the animals.
To address this, the conservation project also plans to ensure that affected farmers receive compensation for crop damage, aiming to reduce hostility towards elephants.
Speaking to The Daily Star yesterday, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, said, “The situation has reached a alarming level as we’ve destroyed almost all the elephant corridors. Elephants have the habit of using the same routes they’re familiar with.
“With the involvement of experts and different organisations, we’ve already resolved the human-elephant conflict issue in the KEPZ [Korean Export Processing Zone] area [in Chattogram’s Anowara].”
Regarding the elephant conservation project, she said it is expected to be approved by the Planning Commission by the end of March.
“Under the project, a certain area of the Gazipur Safari Park will be assigned to rehabilitate captive elephants. We’ll also protect the remaining elephant corridors and form elephant response teams in different areas.”