January 8, 2025
BANDARBAN – Amid the escalating conflict between humans and elephants in the country, fuelled by the loss of the latter’s habitat, another tragic incident occurred in Bandarban on Monday, resulting in the death of an elephant and a man.
A pregnant elephant, who entered a paddy field with the other members of her herd in search of food, got electrocuted by an electric fence protecting the land.
Meanwhile, her death led to a retaliatory attack by its herd that claimed the life of a farmer.
The incident occurred late Monday night in Kumari Para village of Bandarban’s Lama upazila.
The deceased was identified as Faridul Alam, 44, of the Bichanyar Chara area.
He had placed the live wire around the field to deter wild elephants, in which the pregnant elephant got caught and died.
After her death, the other elephants, angered by the death of their pregnant member, kept roaming the area around the field, according to witnesses.
Seeing the elephants, Faridul went to his field to drive away the elephants. The herd attacked him.
“Locals rushed him to Chakaria Hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival,” said Abu Omar, a member of the local union parishad.
Mostafizur Rahman, an official from the Lama Forest Department, confirmed the incident and said that they were visiting the site to gather more details.
“The area is remote and sparsely populated, which caused delays in receiving information. Assistance will be provided to the affected families in accordance with government regulations,” he added.
Loss of habitat forcing elephants into farmlands is nothing new in the region, as at least 14 people have died and 15 have been injured in the last six years in different areas in Chattogram, as per data from the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division.
Meanwhile, at least 14 elephants were killed in these areas in the last decade, WMNCD data adds.