A wild sick elephant often comes out to the villagers of residential areas in Juri Upazila of Moulivbazar from the nearby Lathitila reserve forest.
Locals said the mother elephant needs treatment as it is feeble. The wild elephant comes to the locality seeking remedial aid. However, it returns to the forest when it fails to get any help from anyone.
One of the locals often see the elephant coming to the residential area said, “The elephant is sick for around 4-5 months. It is getting thinner day by day. We informed the forest department about the sickness of the elephant around two months ago.”
It was learnt that Lathitila is the only forest in Sylhet division where four mother elephants are still fighting for their survival against all the adversity. The ill-fated mother elephant would die if it cannot get medical treatment.
The wildlife experts said that the wild elephants would come to an extinction in this way in the forest. They also said that there is no male elephant in this forest so there is no reproduction of elephant. If there is no reproduction, the elephants will automatically get extinct from this forest. If this sick mother elephant is not treated quickly, the elephant will surely die, they fear.
The number of elephants is dropping day by day for several problems including crisis of habitat. We need to be more proactive to save the elephants. These elephants used to spend most of their times in Surma Bansh Mohal of Lathitila bit in Patharia forest. Although there are several bits in Patharia, the elephants used to roam around in Lathitila more due to available food there. Their main food in the forest was Muli Bamboo.
The area of Lathitila forest is 5,631.30 acres. It is a part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. The wild elephants play vital role to save this forest. A large part of the forest will be harmed if these elephants come to extinction. Tahid Rahman, a resident of the area, said that this elephant is sick for many days. Several wounds have been noticed in its body and it is shriveling up. The sick elephant comes to locality again and again for treatment and in search of food.
Juri Range Officer Nazmul Husaain said that they were informed about the sick elephant. They need assistance of Wildlife Department to treat it. Medicine needs to be pushed into the elephant’s body by tranquilizer which they do not have. If the wildlife department arranges treatment, they will give their maximum assistance. Sylhet Divisionali Forrest Officer of Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division (Moulvibazar) Dr Jahangir Alam said that they have heard about the sick elephant. Quick measures are being taken for its treatment. He said that its treatment needs to be done by using tranquilizer.
