Two elderly people were trampled to death and another person was injured in an attack by a herd of wild elephants in Lama Upazila of Bandarban on Friday morning. The deceased are Amir Ali, 70, and Khodeza Bibi, 65, residents of Sohrabpara in Aziznagar union under the upazila and the injured is Bayati, 60, of the same area. Md Jasim Uddin, chairman of the union parishad, said a herd of wild elephants coming  from a nearby jungle entered Sohrabpara area around 8am. Read more: BGB BOP commander killed in Bandarban elephant attack Sensing presence of the elephants, locals started running helter-skelter and the trio was trampled by them,leaving the woman dead on the spot and  two others critically injured, he said. The injured were rushed to Chakaria upazila health complex in Cox’s Bazar where Amir succumbed to his injuries upon arrival, the chairman said adding that Bayati was shifted to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital for better treatment due to his critical condition. Read more: Tea worker killed in Ctg wild elephant attack Anamul Haque Bhuiyan, in-charge of Aziznagar Police Outpost, said the wild elephants also vandalised establishments of the locals. The bodies were handed over to the relatives of the victims, he added.

An elephant herd that fascinated locals and people around the world by making a yearlong journey into urbanized southwest China, raiding farms and even a retirement home for food, appears finally to be headed home. Local authorities have deployed trucks, workers and drones to monitor the elephants, evacuated roads for them to pass safely and used food to steer them away from populated areas. Despite their entrance into villages and a close approach to the Yunnan provincial capital of Kunming, no animals or humans have been injured. Read: 2 elephants that crossed from Myanmar rescued from Bay The 14 Asian elephants of various sizes and ages were guided across the Yuanjiang river in Yunnan on Sunday night and a path is being opened for them to return to the nature reserve where they lived in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. The elephants left the reserve more than a year ago for unknown reasons and roamed more than 500 kilometers (300 miles) north. After reaching the outskirts of Kunming, a center for business and tourism, they turned south again, but still are far from the reserve. One male that separated from the herd was subsequently tranquilized and returned to the reserve. Asian elephants are among the most highly protected animals in China and their population has grown to around 300, even while their habitat has shrunk because of expanded farming and urban growth. As of Sunday night, the herd was still in Yuanjiang County, approximately 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the reserve. Read: Don t gawk or give food: Wandering elephants near China city However, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said the animals were in a “suitable habitat” after crossing the river. A notice issued by provincial government said the herd’s progress was significant and it would continue to work on getting the elephants back in their natural habitat soon.

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. Also read: 2 elephants cross into Bangladesh through River Naf 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. Also read: Garo man trampled to death by elephant in Sherpur 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.

A writ petition was filed with the High Court seeking directives to investigate the deaths of 84 elephants in 19 years in Chattogram district and form an investigation body to look into the incidents.

Bangkok, Oct 8 (AP/UNB) — Wildlife officials in Thailand say they have discovered the carcasses of five more wild elephants downstream from a waterfall where the bodies of six other elephants were found last weekend.