Wild elephants kill two in Bangladesh village

Reuters
Aug 6, 2008

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Wild elephants straying into a village killed a woman and her baby along Bangladesh's border with Myanmar, forest officials said on Wednesday.

The elephants also destroyed two houses and damaged crops on Tuesday at remote Tulatali village, about 500 km (310 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka, they said.

Officials said there were about six elephants, an endangered species in Bangladesh, in the herd.

Including the latest victims, 11 people have been trampled to death and several injured by elephants in the hilly Bandarban district along the border over the past two months, police said.

Attacks by wild elephants have increased in recent years and forest officials blame the loss of forest habitat because of encroachment by the country's growing number of people.

One of the world's most densely populated nations, Bangladesh has forest cover of only 17.5 percent. There are around 400 elephants in the country -- including 100 in captivity.

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