Standing atop an elephant watch-tower on the outskirts of the sprawling Rohingya refugee settlement in southeast Bangladesh, Nur Islam takes great pride in keeping his people safe. The IUCN estimates there are about 268 surviving elephants in Bangladesh, of which about 15 percent, or 35-45, live around the sprawling Rohingya camp area. Islam, who arrived in Cox’s Bazar with his wife and two children, said he was not scared of elephants, although others were, so he stepped forward to be on the elephant team. “It may happen that the elephants understand the loss and become more violent or desperate to move again,” he said. Advertising“Maybe we can find an alternative route for the elephants to cross … through the camps and to the corridor.”

Source: Indian Express February 07, 2019 06:11 UTC