Teenager killed by wild elephant in Maungdaw Twsp

By DMG 22 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
22 October 2022, Maungdaw

A 13-year-old was killed in an attack by a wild elephant in Arakan State’s Maungdaw Township on Friday, according to residents.

The boy from new Nga Ku Ya (Hindu) Village was fatally attacked by a wild elephant on a farm near his village at around 2 p.m., village administrator U Zaw Win Aung told DMG.

“The children were playing on the farm, and the elephant used its trunk to kill the boy. He died of internal and leg injuries. His funeral was held yesterday. Other children fled and escaped,” he said.

Wild elephants often roam the mountain ridge near Nga Ku Ya Village, leaving villagers in an elevated state of anxiety about potential encounters, said U Zaw Win Aung.

“They enter our village from time to time. Villagers have to exercise caution all the time. We are always concerned about the dangers of elephants,” he said.

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

When asked by DMG, assistant director U Zaw Zaw Aung of the Arakan State Forest Department said he could not answer because today is Saturday. He told DMG to come to the office on Monday.

In November of last year, an ethnic Mramagyi man from Mee Tike Village in Maungdaw Township was attacked by a wild elephant and suffered injuries to his legs, left eye, and chest.

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.