Two men killed by wild elephant in Buthidaung Twsp

By DMG 20 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
20 December 2022, Buthidaung

The bodies of two Muslim men who were trampled to death by a wild elephant were found near Ngakyitauk Village, part of Arakan State’s Buthidaung Township, at about 9 a.m. on Tuesday, according to locals.

The two men were fatally attacked by a wild elephant at a location between Ngakyitauk and Aunglanpyin villages and their names and addresses had yet to be identified, said U Rawbi Karvat, the in-charge of neighbouring Meekyaung Khautswel Village.

“Two Muslim men were killed by a wild elephant at a location between Ngakyitauk and Aunglanpyin villages. We cannot identify their names and addresses,” he told DMG.

The bodies of the deceased have been buried in the vicinity of where they were discovered.

U Rawbi Karvat said residents near the village are facing the movement of wild elephants and are worried about the danger of wild elephants.

“Locals always face the danger of wild elephants. Wild elephants destroy paddy fields and crop plantations. We are worried that similar incidents will happen again,” he said.

U Maung Ohn, a former MP for Maungdaw Township, said that the danger of wild elephants along the Mayu mountain range in Buthidaung, Rathedaung and Maungdaw townships is faced every year.

“In Maungdaw, people die or get injured every year because of wild elephants,” he said. “Despite complaints from the public, the concerned departments do not make any response. People have to exercise caution by themselves.”

Local residents in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships often face the danger of wild elephants, with multiple deaths due to being trampled by elephants.

A 13-year-old from new Nga Ku Ya (Hindu) Village in Maungdaw Township was killed in an attack by a wild elephant on a farm near his village on October 21.

Wild elephants in Arakan State are most commonly found in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, as well as in the foothills of the Mayu mountain range in Rathedaung Township.

Wild elephants typically live and graze along the Mayu mountain range, the banks of the Naf River and in neighbouring Bangladesh. Locals say although these elephants rarely visited villages in previous years, they have come down this year in groups to graze closer to human settlements.

Residents believe that the wild elephants are finding it difficult to live in the jungle due to renewed clashes and troop movements that began earlier this year between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), and have come seeking new pastures.