The number of wild elephants roaming the Garo Hills of Sherpur appears to be rising, even as the forests they depend on continue to shrink.

Deforestation, encroachment, illegal sand and stone extraction, and the drying up of streams and waterfalls amid climate change are reducing the elephants’ habitat and food sources.

As food and water become scarce, herds are increasingly venturing out of forests into settlements and farmland, intensifying competition for space between humans and elephants — a conflict that is proving deadly for both.

On World Elephant Day on 12 August, conservationists said the challenge is no longer simply to protect elephants from people, but to create conditions in which humans and elephants can coexist.

The conflict has also been aggravated by human ignorance and, more recently, what conservationists describe as aggressive behaviour by some content creators who enter elephant habitats to film the animals, sometimes disturbing or provoking them.

While elephants raid crops and damage homes and other property, people have been killed or injured. Elephants, too, are being shot, attacked with sharp weapons or killed after becoming trapped in electric fences.

From migrant visitors to permanent residents

For decades, herds of Asian elephants crossed the border from the forests of India’s Assam and Meghalaya and moved through Sherpur’s forests. But the elephants now found in the Garo Hills are no longer simply seasonal or “migrant” visitors.

A significant number are now believed to live and breed permanently in the area, making habitat conservation increasingly urgent.

Environmentalists and nature lovers said the time has come to establish a dedicated elephant sanctuary in Sherpur’s hill areas to protect the animals and reduce conflict with local communities.

This year’s World Elephant Day campaign carries the theme “United Around the World to Save the Lives of Elephants”. The campaign highlights qualities displayed by elephants in the wild, including compassion, wisdom, strong family bonds and resilience, while encouraging responsible stewardship of wildlife.

In Sherpur, programmes were held in the three hill upazilas — Jhenaigati, Sreebardi and Nalitabari — to raise awareness about elephant conservation, coexistence and conflict prevention.

The programmes were organised by the Hati-r Khabarakhabar o Sachetanata group, Sherpur Bird Conservation Society, the Forest Department and other organisations.

Elephant numbers rising

About a decade ago, an IUCN survey estimated that 120 to 125 elephants were present in Sherpur’s forests. At the time, all were classified as migrant elephants that had crossed into Bangladesh from India.

Forest officials now believe the elephant population in the Garo Hills has increased significantly.

According to Forest Department sources, at least 55 elephant calves are estimated to have been born in the area over the past three years. While around 100 to 120 elephants were previously seen roaming the Garo Hills, officials now estimate the number at between 180 and 200.

The increase is largely attributed to continued breeding in the area. Although Asian elephants remain under severe threat of extinction in Bangladesh, officials see the presence of calves in several herds as a positive sign for the species in the Garo Hills.

A recent drone survey reportedly spotted eight to 10 calves among a herd of 34 elephants inside the forest.

Forest officials said elephants generally give birth at intervals of about four years, but suitable habitat and food availability in parts of the Garo Hills appear to be supporting reproduction.

At the Balijuri Range in Sreebardi, elephants have been observed moving in three herds through relatively dense forest. Each herd is estimated to contain 30 to 35 elephants, including seven or eight calves.

Calves have also been spotted among herds roaming Batkuchi, Daodhara Katabari, Burunga, Kalapani and Madhutila in Nalitabari.

47 people killed in 16 years

The rise in elephant numbers, however, is taking place against a backdrop of intensifying human-elephant conflict.

According to Forest Department data, 47 people died in human-elephant conflicts in the hill areas of Sreebardi, Jhenaigati and Nalitabari between 2010 and 2026.

Elephant attacks have also destroyed homes, trees, crops and other property worth several crore taka.

During the same period, 35 elephants died, most of them from gunfire, sharp weapons or electric traps.

The latest human casualty occurred on 7 January, when a man collecting firewood in the Newatila area of Balijuri Hills in Sreebardi was killed in an elephant attack.

In another incident on 5 July last year, a 15- to 16-year-old female elephant was found dead in the Katabari Hills of Nalitabari after apparently being killed by an electric trap.

Hunger and thirst drive elephants into settlements

Sujay Makar, president of the Sherpur Bird Club, said a fully grown elephant needs roughly 140 to 270kg of food and 200 to 300 litres of water every day.

But deforestation, drying streams and the encroachment of traditional elephant corridors have deprived the animals of essential resources, he said.

“As the forests lose their food and water sources, hungry and thirsty elephants are becoming disoriented and coming down into the plains,” Makar said.

The Forest Department estimates that around 120 elephants currently roam the 8,330-acre Balijuri Range. Officials, however, acknowledge that the current condition of the forest is far from ideal for sustaining such a population.

The tendency of elephants to enter settlements has become particularly acute over the past 10 to 15 years, further escalating conflict.

Abdul Kadir, an associate professor at Sherpur Government College and president of the Sherpur District Nature and Life Club, said protecting elephants is inseparable from protecting the Garo Hills ecosystem.

“If elephants survive, the Garo Hills will survive,” he said, describing the elephant as a “flagship” species for the region.

He called for the Garo Hills to be declared an elephant sanctuary.

Kadir also suggested reducing the cultivation of crops favoured by elephants, particularly paddy, in border settlements and encouraging crops such as chilli, which elephants tend to avoid.

Efforts under way to restore forest habitat

Kazi Md Nurul Karim, divisional forest officer of the Sherpur Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said efforts are under way to restore the forest ecosystem and improve food availability for elephants.

A food-rich plantation suitable for elephants is being developed on about 115 hectares of forestland in the Balijuri Range, he said.

The department has also formed 53 Elephant Response Teams (ERTs) to raise awareness and respond to elephant movements. Solar fencing and bio-fencing have been introduced in some areas.

To address water shortages in hilly forest areas, the elephant conservation project has proposed constructing around 40 artificial water bodies or lakes in forests across Bangladesh.

Efforts are also continuing to recover forestland that has been illegally occupied, Karim said.