Three days after they were noted to have crossed over into Bangladesh territory from Myanmar, two Asian elephants were rescued from the Bay of Bengal near Shahpari Island on Tuesday.
With the help of local fishermen and the authorities, the Forest Department was able to rescue the two elephants.
The elephants got down from the hills in the Bangladesh-Myanmar bordering areas and took the Naf river near Naitangpara in Teknaf Municipality last Saturday.
They have followed the course of the Naf to reach the Bay of Bengal.
After several failed rescue attempts in the last three days, Syed Ashiq Ahmed, Teknaf Range Officer, prepared four boats and ran a successful rescue operation with the help of the fishermen in Shahpori island.
He said that the Forest Department had been trying their best to rescue the elephants since the first day but it became even harder on the third and fourth day as tidal water had accelerated their journey to the sea.
The two elephants have become weak due to lack of food for the last three days.
After the rescue, they were given adequate food.
The rescued elephants would be taken to the forest, said Teknaf Range Officer Syed Ashiq Ahmed.
The areas in Teknaf and Ukhia where the Rohingya refugee camps proliferated traverse a known elephant corridor. Human-elephant conflict has arisen as a result of the corridor being encroached upon. As a result, elephants have been facing food crises and often head down to the locality.
Source: United News of Bangladesh