Female elephant "Rangmala" has died at Dulahazara Safari Park in Chakaria, Cox's Bazar, 49 hours after the death of the park's male elephant "Saikat Bahadur". Md Mazharul Islam, custodian of the Dulahazara Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, said the elephant, frail and ill with age, died at 86.

Rangmala died at about 5:30pm on 30 November in the elephant enclosure at the park.

The park's acting range officer, Mazaharul Islam, said Rangmala, kept in the park's enclosure, was about 86 years old and had been suffering from age-related illness. She had been under treatment for a long time and died suddenly on Wednesday evening. A general diary (GD) has been filed with Chakaria police station.

According to the GD, when Rangmala fell ill with age, the park's range officer wrote to the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Division on 22 February, and on 24 February a veterinary medical team was formed for her treatment.

The team comprised Professor Dr Bibek Chandra Sutradhar of the Department of Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary and Wildlife (as the text gives it); Professor Dr Bhajan Chandra Das; Dr Md Farhad Hossain, retired director of the Department of Livestock Services; Upazila Livestock Officer Dr Supan Nandi; and Veterinary Officer Dr Hatem Sajjad Md Zulkar Nain.

The doctors on the board visited on 28 February, checked the condition of all the animals and prescribed treatment for Rangmala. She had been under treatment ever since, but could not be cured.

Earlier, Saikat Bahadur, a 32-year-old wild elephant kept at the Dulahazara Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, died at about 4pm on 28 November. Acting range officer Md Mazaharul Islam said the elephant died suddenly while eating inside the park enclosure. Forty-nine hours later, the second elephant, Rangmala, died.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.