A 70-year-old woman was trampled to death by a wild elephant in her lemon garden at Joldi union in Chittagong’s Banshkhali on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Nur e Ayesha,70. The incident took place when the victim went to pick lemons from her garden in the Jungle Joldi area of the upazila, Banshkhali police station Assistant Sub-Inspector (SI) Mubarak Hossain said.
Ayesha was critically injured when the elephant attacked her. The locals rushed her to Banshkhali Health Complex and she was declared dead, SI Mubarak added.
Sheikh Anisuzzaman, range officer of Joldi Range under Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division of Chittagong, said: "The Manorama Jiri area of Jungle Joldi has been marked by the Forest Department for elephant movement. Ayesha was trampled to death by an elephant when she went to her lemon garden to pick lemons from the area."
The elephant is a "critically endangered" species in Bangladesh, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
Faced with shrinking forest cover and human encroachment of their corridors, wild
elephants are under serious threat in southeast Bangladesh.
The construction of huge settlements on forest land and hills has also restricted their free movement.
Also, ever increasing deforestation in the hills is leading to a crisis of food and habitat for wild animals, making the elephants venture into human settlements in search of food and attack those who try to stop them.