Conservation officials’ attempt
to transport animal to safari park after it was separated from herd in floods
in Assam fails
Agence France-Presse in Dhaka
Tuesday 16 August 201608.54 BST
Last modified on Tuesday 16
August 201609.07 BST
An elephant thought to have
travelled at least 1,000 miles (1,600km) from India into Bangladesh after
floods separated it from the herd has died, despite efforts to save it.
The distressed animal was
tranquillised three times during repeated attempts to transport it to a safari
park in Bangladesh, after the elephant crossed the border in late June.
It was eventually given large
amounts of saline and chained in a paddy field to help it recover, but the
animal was “too weak and tired” from the ordeal, officials said.
“It breathed its last at about
7am (0100 GMT),” the government’s chief wildlife conservator, Ashit Ranjan
Paul, said.
“We have given our highest effort
to save the animal. At least 10 forest rangers, vets and police officers have
constantly followed it for the last 48 days. But our luck is bad.”
Paul said the animal is believed
to have travelled more than 1,060 miles from Assam in north-east India after
being separated from its herd in severe flooding.
The animal ran amok and charged
into a pond after Bangladeshi forest officials hit it with a tranquilliser dart
on Thursday. Local villagers jumped into the pond to prevent the four-tonne
animal from drowning by stopping it toppling into the water.
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