Jharkhand elephant shot dead in Bangladesh

An elephant that had strayed from West Bengal's Murshidabad district into neighbouring Bangladesh was allegedly gunned down by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), a forest official said on Tuesday.

"We have been told by the BSF that a male elephant which had strayed across the border into Bangladesh was gunned down by the BGB," State Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests B. R.Sharma told IANS.

Sharma said a herd of elephants had come from Jharkhand (Dalma) and passed through south of Malda-Murshidabad districts last week and from that herd an elephant had reportedly strayed and crossed over to Bangladesh.

The pachyderm entered the neighbouring country by crossing the Padma river in Murshidabad's Nimtita village. It was allegedly shot on Monday.

South Bengal forests receive seasonal visitors from Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha.

The extended stay-over of elephants from Jharkhand and other states in southwest Bengal is a serious concern for forest officials since it leads to repeated man-animal conflicts.

Of Bengal's 11,879 sq km of forest area, more than a third - over 4,200 sq km - is a designated elephant habitat.