- Despite various conservation initiatives, elephants in Bangladesh continue to face a severe survival crisis due to escalating human-elephant conflict.
- A recent incident where residents of a remote village mutilated a dead elephant brings up the issue of failure of the forest department, as well as a lack of awareness among common people, to protect the species.
- Data suggests that at least 151 elephants in Bangladesh have been killed in conflicts with humans since 2017.
- According to a 2016 census, Bangladesh was then home to around 270 elephants in the wild. The IUCN declared the species as critically endangered in the country, mainly living in the southern hilly forests and the northeastern forests.
On April 25, 2026, a male elephant suffering from illness died in the hilly district of Rangamati in southeastern Bangladesh. Residents from the remote village where it died hacked away at its legs and trunk, which highlight serious failures by the country’s Forest Department as well as a lack of public awareness and sensitivity towards wildlife protection.
The 60-year-old elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) had been injured several months earlier in a conflict with humans and later died while receiving treatment, said A.S.M. Jahir Uddin Akon, a conservator of forests in Bangladesh.
Prior to this incident, in March, a 3-month-old baby elephant was found killed by humans in a protected forest in the neighboring Bandarban district.
Before that, on Jan. 19, a captive elephant was killed following collision with a train in Sylhet district in northeastern Bangladesh.
According to the latest data from the forest department, between 2017 and 2025, at least 148 elephants — including resident, non-resident and captive ones — were killed in the country. ‘Resident’ here means those who live in the country’s forests, and ‘non-resident’ refers to those who frequently come in from the neighboring countries, India and Myanmar.
The deaths of the three elephants this year have brought the total number to 151.
Regarding the rising fatal incidents of elephants despite several conservation initiatives, Akon, who leads the Elephant Conservation Project at the Forest Department, told Mongabay, “We are working to resolve the crisis in many ways; however, the incidents are rising.”
About the latest incident, he said, “The elephant was injured by locals with a spare, and with the support of Chittagong Veterinary Hospital, the treatment was ongoing. But unfortunately, the elephant did not survive. The worst part is the locals’ cutting of the body parts of dead animals, which clearly indicates they are not sensitive about the wild species.”
Causes behind the confrontation
According to a 2016 report by IUCN Bangladesh about the status of elephants, there were only 268 resident Asian elephants in the country.
In the country’s northeast, elephant herds usually come in from neighboring India’s Meghalaya state for a few weeks a year in search of food and then return to their home territory.
This migratory behavior has been observed for a long time. However, since 2019, some have been trapped in Bangladesh as India closed the migratory corridors by fencing the Bangladesh-India border.
Wildlife researchers identified different factors that led to the loss in both the northeast and southeast zones, including unplanned infrastructure development by the public and private sectors in the southeast and the fenced border in the northeast.
For instance, in 2018, Bangladesh constructed a 103-kilometer (64-mile) railway between Chittagong to Cox’s Bazar districts, of which 27 km (16.7 mi) run through three protected areas — Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Fasiakhali Wildlife Sanctuary and Medhakachhapia National Park — where almost half of the country’s resident elephants live.
In addition, the development of two major economic zones — the Korean Export Processing Zone and the China Economic and Industrial Zone — in Chattogram district increased the conflicts between humans and elephants since they are established within elephant corridors.
Other important factors behind the clash are increased human settlements along elephants’ corridors and habitats to meet growing demand.
With a wild population of approximately 52,000, the IUCN-declared critically endangered species live in 13 countries.
Regarding the current numbers, Akon, the conservator of forests, says, “Due to the current death tolls and trapped non-resident elephants in the northeast, we don’t know the exact number. Also, since the last census was conducted between 2013 and 2016, under the current project, we are planning to have a new census to get the current situation.”
Conservation actions and their failure
In 2018, the government formulated a 10-year-long ‘elephant conservation action plan’ to guide the implementation of elephant conservation activities in the country.
Besides this, under a project called Sustainable Forests & Livelihoods (SUFAL), the forest department, along with NGOs such as IUCN Bangladesh, engaged local communities in conflict-prone areas by forming Elephant Response Teams (ERTs) as a conservation tool to reduce human-elephant conflict.
An ERT is composed of local people who raise awareness about elephants in various ways, including updating information on the movement of elephant herds and educating the public about elephant conservation and what should or should not be done with the wild animal.
Monirul H. Khan, a wildlife researcher and zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University, said, “Though setting up ERT is a good initiative, two factors are causing the effort to be ineffective. Firstly, the inadequate number of ERTs per area, and secondly, ERT members work voluntarily rather than getting paid or subsidized. Without providing any benefit, it is tough to engage them properly.”
In 2010, to make restitution for the deaths of humans and the loss of their resources, Bangladesh introduced compensation packages for the families who lost someone or resources like houses and crop fields to the attack of wild animals.
In 2021, the government increased the compensation. Under the new provision, the family of a deceased person can receive 300,000 takas ($2470) instead of 100,000 takas ($823), and an injured person will receive 100,000 takas ($823) instead of 50,000 takas ($412). A maximum of 50,000 takas ($412) can be claimed for damaged household items and crops.
“Though it was anticipated that compensation would help reduce the conflict, in reality, not all victims dare to claim it. Because in the Chittagong Hill Tracts [southeastern Bangladesh], most settlements and crop fields are on khas [government-owned or forest land] land that was illegally set up or used. In a claim for compensation, they must show ownership of the land to claim for damaged property or crops,” Khan said.
Regarding people’s harsh attitude towards wild animals, Khan said, “The behavioral changes of humans against the elephant are urgent as humans are becoming restless nowadays.” Behind the large number of elephant deaths in recent years, electric fencing is now playing key roles, Khan added. Earlier, locals used fireworks and other loud sounds to keep the elephants away from their resources.
Bangladesh has been preparing for formal discussions with India to address the issue of the trapped migrated elephants under a signed protocol between the two countries.
Meanwhile, in 2025, despite several obstacles, such as growing human settlements, the government has declared part of the northeastern zone a protected area for elephants.
Banner image: The male elephant that recently died in Rangamati. Image by Samir Mallik.
In north Bangladesh, human-elephant conflicts signal need for greater protection
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