Forest Department
3 deer poachers held in Khulna
Forest Department officials detained three poachers along with deer traps, boat and other on Monday morning at Markirkhal area in Koyra upazila of Khulna district.
The detainees are Mizanur Rahman, 45, Moidul Sarder, 42 and Rahim Gazi 35, residents of Fakirabad Village in Paikgachha Upazila of the district.
Read: 2 smugglers held with 18 deer hides in Bagerhat
AZM Hasanur Rahman, Khulna Range Assistant Forest Conservator (ACF)said tipped off, Naliyan Station Officer Mohammad Ismail Hossain and Hadda Forest Patrol Outpost OC Mohammad Anwar Hossain conducted a drive around 7am.
The detainees were produced before the court of Koyra Upazila Senior Judicial Magistrate.
A case was filed in this connection.
5 endangered jungle cat cubs rescued in Kushtia
Five endangered jungle cat cubs have been rescued from the Shalghar Modhua area of Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia.
Three local youths -- Tonmoy, Tanvir and Anas, all brothers -- spotted the cubs in Shalghar Modhua village on Saturday and contacted the forest department.
Read:Another nilgai rescued in Thakurgaon
The cubs were handed over to a team of the forest department and Bangladesh Biodiversity Conservation Federation (BBCF) on Monday night.
Two of the rescued cubs have been released in the forest, while three sick ones are undergoing treatment under the supervision of the forest department, said Md Abdul Hamid, in-charge of the Kushtia forest department.
Read: Crocodile captured by fisherman rescued in Bagerhat
The jungle cat, also known as reed cat or swamp cat, is native to the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and southern China. Its scientific name is Felis Chaus.
This medium-sized cat usually inhabits wetlands like swamps, and littoral and riparian areas with dense vegetation. However, they have become endangered in Bangladesh due to the reckless destruction of their habitat.
Python released in Kaptai National Park
A 15-foot python was released in Kaptai National Park after being caught by local people when it entered the locality at Chandraghona in Kaptai upazila in Rangamati early Wednesday.
Taranmani Tanchangya, a resident of the area, spotted the python in the forest of the Sericulture Research Center area in Chandraghona Union and put it in a sack tactfully and informed the Forest Department.
Read: 12ft-long python rescued in Bagerhat
Later, Tanjilur Rahman, Kaptai Range Officer of Chittagong Hill Tracts Southern Forest Department, released the python in Kaptai National Park under the Forest Department.
He also said that the python weighing 20-25 kg is doing well.
Read: 18-feet long python captured in Bagerhat
Kaptai Upazila Nirbahi Officer Muntasir Jahan and Assistant Forest Conservator (ACF) Ganga Prasad Chakma of Chittagong Hill Tracts Southern Forest Department were present.
This python might have entered the locality in search of food at night, said Tanjilur Rahman.
Environmental organizations protest dysfunction of rules to protect forest-wild animals
Environmental organizations have protested the dysfunctional role of the Forest Department to stop the killing of wild animals in Bangladesh.
Environment workers and their 33 organizations have submitted 8-point to the government for proper implementation of wild animals including elephants by the smuggling group.
They placed the demands from a sit-in program held in front of the Bon Bhaban (office of the Forest Department) at Agargaon in Dhaka on Sunday.
Read: Another Asian elephant found dead, this time in Chakaria reserved forest
A total of 33 environmental organizations took part in the protest program under the Bangladesh Nature Conservation Alliance (BNCA) platform.
The united platform launched the protest for failure of the authorities concerned as well as the Forest Department to stop deforestation and killing of wild animals.
Read: Elephant carcass found along Sherpur border
Prof Dr Kamruzzaman Majumder, convener of the BNCA and joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA), presided over the program.
India's first grass conservatory established in Uttarakhand's Ranikhet
India's first Grass Conservatory was established in Uttarakhand's Ranikhet town in an area of three acres, funded under the Central Government's CAMPA scheme.
The conservatory was developed in three years and has been developed by the Research Wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department, reports ANI.
Read:Indian government is revamping aquaculture for a ‘blue revolution’
Around 100 different grass species have been conserved/demonstrated in this conservation area.
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Conservator of Forest said, "The project aims to create awareness about the importance of grass species, promote conservation, and to facilitate further research in these species."
"It has been proved in the latest researches that grasslands are more effective in carbon sequestration than forest land," Chaturvedi said.
He further stressed that grasslands are facing various types of threats and areas under grasslands are shrinking, thereby endangering the entire ecosystem of insects, birds and mammals dependent on them.
"Grasses are economically the most important of all flowering plants because of their nutritious grains and soil-forming function," he said.
Read: India opens to vaccinated foreign tourists after 18 months
The conservation area has seven different sections of grasses as Aromatic, Medicinal, Fodder, Ornamental, Religiously important Grasses and Agricultural Grasses. Thysanoleanamaxima also called Tiger grass / Broom grass- an important fodder grass found along steep hills, ravines, and sandy banks of rivers up to an altitude of 2000 m, in Uttarakhand. Its dry flowering stocks are used as a broom.
Being a perennial species it can be used as green fodder round the year and also helps in preventing soil erosion on steep hillsides and is used in rehabilitation of degraded land. Pennisetumpurpureum also called Napier grass / Elephant grass- makes a good contour hedgerow and is an excellent bank and pasture fodder. Used for firebreaks, windbreaks in paper pulps production and bio-oil, biogas and charcoal.
200 trees felled in Sylhet without permission
About 200 trees have been cut down at Shahjalal upasahar in the city to construct roadside drains by the Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) without any approval from the forest department.
SCC workers chopped down the trees from Monday night to Tuesday afternoon, cut those into pieces and then removed those in trucks, said locals.
Locals alleged that most of the felled trees have already been sold and a local syndicate is involved in it.
Upon receiving the news, a team of the forest department visited the spot.
Read:Students protest cutting down of old Krishnachura tree at DU, plant new one
Aftab Chowdhury, the National Tree Plantation Award winner and a resident of the area, said he had planted most of the trees which have been felled.
Aftab Chowdhury said, “Trees have been chopped down indiscriminately. They cut down 200 trees where about 50 trees needed to be felled. The trees could be sold at Tk one lakh each.”
According to SCC’s engineering unit, construction of drains and road expansion work in 15 km area of the city started in the current fiscal year at a cost of around Tk 100 crore.
Drain construction and road expansion work started on Road No. 21, 37 and 38 of C Block in Shahjalal Upasahar area recently. Trees of various species including ‘Rain tree’ were planted on both sides of these roads in the area in 1990.
According to the rules of the forest department, prior permission of the forest department is needed before cutting down trees on privately owned or government land. If it sees tree cutting logical after verification, then the price of the trees is fixed and permission is given on the condition of planting more trees.
Read: HC turns down writ challenging tree felling at Suhrawardy Udyan
Sylhet City Ranger of the Forest Department Md Shahidullah said the city corporation authorities sent a letter to the forest department on October 17 seeking permission cut down some trees to build drains on both sides of the road in the area. “When our staff went to visit the area the next day they found all trees felled.”
"We are trying to find out how many trees have been cut down and where they have been taken," he said.
Nur Azizur Rahman, chief engineer of the Sylhet City Corporation, said they had sent a letter to the forest department for approval . However, some workers of the city corporation cut down the trees before getting permission. We will take action against those responsible for this,” he added.
Lethal Russell's Viper snake rescued in Kushtia
A deadly Russell's Viper, one of the most lethal snake species known to mankind, was safely released back into the wild on Saturday night, after being rescued from the Gorai River in Kushtia.
The snake was released in a remote sandbar of Kushtia after nightfall, with the help of a local nature lover and the Forest Department.
The Russell's Viper is identified as one of the 'big four' species of venomous snakes belonging to India's historic geography (that includes lands now in Bangladesh, Pakistan). It is also found commonly around farmland further east, from Indonesia to Taiwan.
Read: Rare red coral kukri snake spotted again in Panchagarh
It is one of the genera responsible for causing the most snakebite incidents and deaths among all venomous snakes due to many factors, such as their wide distribution, general aggressiveness, and frequent occurrence in highly populated areas.
Locals said Mridul Sheikh from Mangalbaria area of the town went fishing in the Gorai River on Wednesday and a five feet long snake got stuck in his net. He kept it in the bucket and brought it home as he found it to be rare. The snake's stomach was full of eggs and it was not moving much.
The fisherman was trying to sell the snake.
Being informed, Shahabuddin Milon, a nature lover and social worker from Thanapara area of Kushtia town, along with Kushtia Forest Department rescued the snake.
Read:Tk75 crore snake venom seized in Dhaka
Abdul Hamid, an official of the Kushtia Forest Department, said the snake was believed to have come from India with floodwater.
Earlier, around a week ago, another Russell viper was caught in a fishing net from the Gorai river at Chheuria in Kumarkhali area of Kushtia.
Sundarbans set to reopen for tourists on Sep 1
After nearly five months of closure due to the Covid restrictions, the Forest Department is reopening the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a Unesco World Heritage Site, on September 1 (Wednesday).
The decision was taken at a meeting between leaders of the Forest Department and the Tour Operators Association of Sundarbans, Khulna, on Sunday.
Read:Red tapes are holding back the much-hyped Sundarbans conservation project
M Nazmul Azam David, the general secretary of the Tour Operators Association, confirmed the information to UNB.
However, it won’t be business as usual as the Forest Department has given some rules and conditions before reopening the forest for tourists.
Rare yellow turtle rescued in Faridpur
A rare yellow flapshell turtle has been rescued from a canal in the Ambikapur area of Faridpur's Sadar upazila, forest officials have said.
The turtle was spotted by a youth, named Riyad, a resident of Ambikapur village, on Sunday afternoon when he had been fishing in the canal in Biswas Dangi.
Read: Rare 'cheetah cat' found in Chandpur
The turtle was subsequently caught in a fishing net and handed over to the Faridpur forest department. The reptile is currently kept in a reservoir of the forest department at Gangavardi in Faridpur Sadar.
Faridpur Divisional Social Forest Officer Kabir Hossain Patwari said that the turtle is a unique and rare reptile. "It weighs about 1.5 kg and has a diameter of eight inches," he said on Tuesday.
However, Ashikur Rahman Shomi, a student of zoology at Dhaka University, said that it's very much possible that the Sundhi turtle species -- matte and grey in colour -- may have turned yellow due to genetic changes.
Read:Rare fishing cat captured in Chattogram village
The Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department in Khulna has been informed. The next step will be taken as per their advice, said the forest officer.
2 elephants that crossed from Myanmar rescued from Bay
Three days after they were noted to have crossed over into Bangladesh territory from Myanmar, two Asian elephants were rescued from the Bay of Bengal near Shahpari Island on Tuesday.
With the help of local fishermen and the authorities, the Forest Department was able to rescue the two elephants.
The elephants got down from the hills in the Bangladesh-Myanmar bordering areas and took the Naf river near Naitangpara in Teknaf Municipality last Saturday.
Also read: 2 elephants cross into Bangladesh through River Naf
They have followed the course of the Naf to reach the Bay of Bengal.
After several failed rescue attempts in the last three days, Syed Ashiq Ahmed, Teknaf Range Officer, prepared four boats and ran a successful rescue operation with the help of the fishermen in Shahpori island.
He said that the Forest Department had been trying their best to rescue the elephants since the first day but it became even harder on the third and fourth day as tidal water had accelerated their journey to the sea.
The two elephants have become weak due to lack of food for the last three days.
Also read: Garo man trampled to death by elephant in Sherpur
After the rescue, they were given adequate food.
The rescued elephants would be taken to the forest, said Teknaf Range Officer Syed Ashiq Ahmed.
The areas in Teknaf and Ukhia where the Rohingya refugee camps proliferated traverse a known elephant corridor. Human-elephant conflict has arisen as a result of the corridor being encroached upon. As a result, elephants have been facing food crises and often head down to the locality.