Animal Kingdom

I hope Donald Trump doesn't get wind of this border. If so, he will surely be itching to build a wall and halt, once and for all, humans crossing it in both directions. But has he accounted for quadrupeds? I think not...

So, a lone elephant gets separated from his herd and enters Bangladesh. And no, he is not accorded the BSF-like reception. Quite the contrary. But no matter which direction one moves across this border, it seems that there are triggers involved while the intentions are starkly different. In one case, it is the lifeless body of a girl dangling from a barbed wire, in the other case it is a four-legged mammal going in the other direction, not with any intention other than merely being lost and being tranquilised with the hope of safe passage to a safe habitat. What ensues in the following days is a tale of cooperation between two nations in an exemplary effort to rescue and rehabilitate the giant mammal. For once, a 'strange' lone animal is not beaten to death followed by a group photo of grinning people standing around the carcass. Definitely not hunted down either for his tusks (tsk, tsk – not that he had any). But it turns out to be a 'mammoth' task to bring him to safety, ending in his death. In fact, many weep the demise of the guest. There is even a legal notice served to probe the death of the animal and mete out punishments – all in contrast to the double acquittals in the Felani case. 

Though Bangabahadur's fate never allowed him to make it to Bangabandhu Safari Park and the big question remains on the series of tranquilisers administered, it gives many hope – if there is so much care and concern for a lone animal, there will surely be a whole lot more for a mangrove full of fellow living beings along the River Poshur. I'm sure along with the fauna, the flora will manage to squeeze in to curry favours from man so that he does not inflict (any more) harm on nature.

Only time can tell – at a time when humans continue to inflict pain on humans, with tools made by humans and motives devised by humans. Stack them all up and it's a tall order to ask for consideration of the habitat of the largest mangrove forest in the world, straddling the two very nations involved with Bangabahadur, when the focus is for our cities which need to be lit up.

The writer is an engineer at Ford & Qualcomm USA and CEO of IBM & Nokia Siemens Networks Bangladesh turned comedian (by choice), the host of ABC Radio's Good Morning Bangladesh and the founder of Naveed's Comedy Club. 

E-mail: naveed@naveedmahbub.com