The elephant is a ‘Critically Endangered Species’
in Bangladesh, and it is included in Appendix 1 of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and in the
Third Schedule of the Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation
(Amendment) Act, 1974. Human settlement in forested
areas, absence of tree camouflage inside the forest and
reductions in availability of food are considered to be
the primary causes for the decrease in number of elephants
in the forests of Bangladesh (Khan et al. 2004).
Southeast Bangladesh is considered to be a primary
conservation area for Asian elephants that provides a
refuge for the existing population. An estimated 196–
227 elephants range over a fragmented landscape in
Bangladesh (Sukumar 2006). However, the natural habitat
for the elephants in Bangladesh is rapidly diminishing
because more and more land is being cleared for
cultivation and development of infrastructure. Moreover,
human encroachment on PAs in southeast and north
Bangladesh has forced elephants to forage in non-protected
areas, thus increasing the disturbance caused to local
people. Therefore, with the dwindling populations of
Asian elephant, conflict between humans and elephants
has also become a progressively more serious issue in
Bangladesh.