Wild elephants are being hunted for meat in Sangu-Matamuhuri forest!

Wild elephants are being hunted not only for their tusks in Bangladesh, but also for their meat. A group of researchers has found evidence of elephants being killed for meat in the Sangu-Matamuhuri reserve forest in the mountainous region bordering Myanmar. This has revealed a new and horrific aspect of elephant hunting in the country's history.

A four-member research team conducted research in the Sangu-Matamuhuri reserve forest in April this year. There, they found signs of elephant meat being dried on a platform. Dried pieces of elephant meat, bones and skin were found on the platform, which was 36 feet long and three feet high. The researchers believe that an adult elephant was killed and these parts were being dried. Their report was published by Cambridge University Press on October 16.

According to the researchers, the location of the incident is an area bordering Myanmar's Rakhine state. Local sources have confirmed that several other such incidents of elephant killing have occurred in the region in recent times. It is suspected that in addition to elephant meat, bones and teeth are being smuggled to Myanmar.

MA Aziz, a professor and elephant expert at the Department of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University, said, “This is not at all unusual. The custom of eating elephant meat in the hilly regions is very old. We have heard about it before, but this time direct evidence of it has been found.” He added that information about elephant killing for meat in Myanmar was published at an international seminar held in Malaysia in 2019.

According to the Forest Department, a total of 114 elephants have died in Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox’s Bazar in the last 9 years. Of these, 7 were shot, 26 died in electric traps, 18 in accidents, 40 due to illness, 15 due to age and 10 due to unknown reasons. But despite all these deaths, only 19 cases have been filed in the forest court.

Quoting local people, the research team said that several organized groups in Myanmar and Bangladesh are involved in elephant hunting and smuggling. Meanwhile, researchers have also found evidence of regular elephant migration from Myanmar between November and March. The study found that the Sangu-Matamuhuri forest is still relatively intact and an important habitat for elephants; therefore, elephant poaching in this area has given rise to a new threat.

The Forest Department's 'Elephant Conservation Action Plan 2018-2027' states that trafficking in ivory and body parts is posing a serious threat to the existence of elephants in Bangladesh. The latest IUCN survey (2016) found only 268 wild elephants in the country, which conservationists now fear will decrease further.

Elephant killing is a serious crime under Bangladesh's Wildlife Conservation Act. This crime carries a minimum sentence of two years to a maximum of seven years in prison and a fine of one lakh to one million taka.

According to the researchers, this is the first time that direct evidence of elephant killing for meat has been found in Bangladesh, which is a dire warning not only for the country but also for the entire region's wildlife conservation system.