Shot two years ago, this time the trunk and legs were amputated after death

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The dead elephant was amputated from one leg to the chest. No trunk either. Members of the Elephant Response Team of the Forest Department found the 60-year-old male elephant lying dead in Paksapara of Bhasanya Adam Union of Longadu Upazila of Rangamati on Sunday. There was a grieving female elephant guarding her dead male companion. The female elephant did not let people approach. But as soon as the female elephant moved away, miscreants cut off the dead male elephant’s trunk and a large part of its hind legs in the dark of night.

The forest department said the male elephant was the only breeding male in the area. Two years ago it was also shot by a group of miscreants. At that time it was also hit with a sharp spear. Later, the elephant recovered after being treated by the forest department, but the infection recurred. The elephant died from that infection. Many people expressed their anger when the scene of its meat being cut up even after death was spread on Facebook last night.

Longdur Bhasanya Adam’s Paksapara is about 75 km away from Rangamati Sadar. As of writing this report on Monday afternoon, the elephant was still lying there. Angry Facebook users have questioned the responsibility of the forest department over the elephant meat slaughter. Not being able to rescue the dead elephant is seen by them as negligence of the organization.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury was the divisional forest officer of Chittagong Hill Tracts North Forest Division when the elephant was shot. He is currently working as Divisional Forest Officer of Sundarban East Forest Division. He gave a status on his Facebook page on the death of the elephant. He writes, ‘The Longdur male elephant was originally the only large male elephant with breeding potential among the 14 elephants in the area. He was also shot several times by a mob. But he was very needed.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury was contacted on the basis of this status. He told Prothom Alo that this male elephant was shot in the middle of 2023. A sharp javelin is pierced. He was cured with two rounds of treatment. The first treatment in May 2023 brought some temporary relief. Later he fell ill again. 2024 was completely cured after another round of treatment.

This forest official said, Longdur had 14 elephants in this herd. They roamed sometimes together, sometimes in groups. Mainly came to the locality in search of food. The local people shot and speared the male elephant. People chose this brutal way to drive them out of the area, which was not appropriate in any way.

Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said that a group of veterinarians from Chittagong Hill Tracts North Forest Division, Chakriar Safari Park in Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Sivasu) jointly cured the elephant.

Commenting on the needs of the 60-year-old male elephant and the lifestyle of elephants, he said female elephants prefer to mate with the oldest male elephant in the herd. Now there are more male elephants in the herd. But they are not yet fit for union.

The deceased male elephant had been ill for quite some time. It had deep wounds on different parts of its body. An official of the Chittagong Hill Tracts North Forest Department associated with medical services said on condition of anonymity that the dead elephant had deep wounds in at least six places on its body. The wounds were on the back right side of the body, front right and left side, front left leg joint. In between, the wound was a hand deep at the joint of the leg.

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Chittagong North Forest Division Divisional Forest Officer Md. Rafiquzzaman Shah. He told Prothom Alo that the elephant was first treated on February 23 and the second round on April 10. Treatment was ongoing.

Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Sivasu) doctor Vivek Chandra Sutradhar treated the elephant. He told Prothom Alo that the elephant had two wounds on its chest and more wounds on its left leg joint. The wounds on the body could be healed, but the wounds on the legs were more likely to heal.

The dead body was found early yesterday, but the elephant could not be rescued at that time. At that time, a female elephant was seen standing next to the elephant. However, the local people tried to disturb the female elephant by throwing sand and stones and shouting. The female elephant also rushed towards them.

Meanwhile, a photo of the dead male elephant being cut from the body of the dead elephant was spread on social media this afternoon. The elephant’s trunk and hind thigh were cut off by unidentified people. The role of the forest department has been questioned as the meat is cut and taken away.

A person named Rekors Chakma posted a picture of the wounded elephant on Facebook and wrote, ‘When will we become human? Every time I watch the video, I can’t help myself. People are so disgusting. How is that possible? Yesterday, the trunk and legs of the dead male elephant were cut off in the dark of night at Longadu in Rangamati. Where did the officials of the forest department go?

Another person named Samir Mallik wrote on Facebook, “Some human-like hyenas have cut the leg meat and trunk of the dead elephant in Longdu of Rangamati!” What could be worse than this? Since I wrote yesterday (Sunday) the grieving companion has been harassing the elephant, pelting it with stones, beating it with sticks, standing by the dead body. No one took any action. The miscreants came during the night and took away the body parts of the elephant. Where did the forest department and ERT (Elephant Response Team) members go?’

When contacted, the Divisional Forest Officer of Chittagong Hill Tracts North Forest Division Mo Rafikuzzaman Shah told Prothom Alo that the body of the dead elephant has been recovered. Forest department and veterinary team went there. The elephant will be buried after the post-mortem.

Pictures of the elephant’s flesh and trunk being cut off are seen circulating on social media. When asked about this matter, the divisional forest officer said, ‘There was no environment for people to stay because of rain yesterday (Sunday) night. It is not known who or who cut the elephant’s meat in the darkness of the night as the little elephant moved away. It’s not like people have become so ugly. What do we have to do here?