A sexagenarian has been killed in an attack by a wild elephant in Boalkhali upazila of Chittagong.
The incident happened at Karaldenga area of Boalkhali upazila of the district early Wednesday.
The deceased is Abdul Alam, 60, a native of Karaldenga area.
Boalkhali police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Sheikh Md Neyamat Ullah said: "Alam went to work on his agriculture field early Wednesday morning, and was the victim of an elephant attack."
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, eminent wildlife conservationist Dr Reza Khan said the recent rise in human-elephant conflicts in Bangladesh have been broadly attributable to shortage of food, and the lack of sufficient foraging ground in the forests.
“A study shows that elephants naturally browse on at least 50 species of plants, including wild banana, bamboo, grasses and reeds, climbers, lianas, etc. In addition, they eat fruits of over a dozen trees. Due to deforestation and changing patterns in forestry, there is a severe shortage of natural food for the elephants, and many other forest-dwelling animals,” said Dr Khan.
“To reduce human-elephant conflicts, the government must ensure that sufficient food is available inside the forest. This should include: creating summer-season crops that will keep the elephants inside forests, creating salt and mineral peat far away from human habitation and deep inside forest, and sufficient supply of freshwater during lean months in the form of ponds holding rain water,” added the wildlife expert.
