Rescued wild elephant moved to Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Dulahazra for treatment

An injured wild elephant that people rescued from a muddy ditch in Chattogram has been taken to Dulahazra Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park.

The weakened female elephant is being treated at the facility after it arrived at Rangunia 10 days ago, said Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division’s spokesman Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury.

The elephant, believed to be around 12 years old, was found stuck at the foothill of the Kodaly Tea Estate in Chattogram's Rangunia twice in six days.

The Forest Department on Apr 30 rescued it, 24 hours after it was trapped in a muddy ditch at the foothill of the Kodaly Tea Estate in Chattogram's Rangunia.

Though the elephant immediately ran back to the wild after being rescued, it was spotted again on May 4, stuck in a similar fashion in another ditch within the boundaries of the same tea estate, according to members of the Forest Department.

The elephant in question was rescued with the help of locals on May 5 and Forest Department officials administered treatments for the injury it had sustained during her desperate struggle to escape the ditch.

The elephant was released back into the wild on May 7, but it was spotted again by locals a day later. Officials of the Forest Department attempted to move the elephant on May 12 night but failed with a herd of elephants around.

Forester Masud Kabir of the department's Rangunia range said, “We began work again at 8am on Friday. The elephant got agitated every time but we managed to take it onboard a truck at 11am. We reached safari park at 5pm.”

Rafiqul, who is a divisional forest officer or DFO, said: “It’s a wild elephant, very hard to tame. It has been kept separately at the safari park as it is quite accustomed to the wild.

“The elephant is being given food and saline. It’s being treated and appears to be somewhat better than before. It’s now eating too. But we’re quite scared of it as it can get agitated and cause an accident at any time.”