Chunati

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in the Chattogram division of southeastern Bangladesh, in the hilly terrain south of Chattogram city towards the Cox's Bazar district. The sanctuary protects tropical hill forest in an area of high biodiversity importance, covering a significant extent of forest in the coastal hill zone of southeastern Bangladesh. Chunati is recognized as one of the most important habitats for Asian elephants in Bangladesh, lying within a landscape where elephants move seasonally across a network of forest tracts between Cox's Bazar, Chattogram, and the border forests of Myanmar. The sanctuary is managed by the Bangladesh Forest Department and has received particular conservation attention due to its critical role in maintaining elephant corridors in southeastern Bangladesh. It represents an important component of the protected area network in a biodiversity-rich but heavily pressured region.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is one of Bangladesh's most important sites for Asian elephant conservation, supporting a significant number of elephants within a broader landscape where herds move seasonally between forest patches. The sanctuary's forest provides food, water, and shelter for elephant herds, and maintaining connectivity between Chunati and neighboring forest areas is essential for long-term elephant viability. In addition to elephants, the sanctuary supports leopards, jungle cats, fishing cats, civets, porcupines, and various deer species. The birdlife is exceptionally diverse, characteristic of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, with hornbills, broadbills, barbets, kingfishers, and numerous forest songbirds present. Primates including gibbons inhabit areas of denser forest. The sanctuary's streams support freshwater fish and otters, while reptile diversity includes pythons and a variety of lizard and snake species.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary protects tropical moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forest typical of the Chittagong coastal hills, a forest type that represents the western fringe of the Southeast Asian tropical forest zone. The canopy consists of tall tropical hardwoods, with bamboo forming a significant component of the forest structure throughout the sanctuary, both in natural stands and in areas recovering from past disturbance. Dense bamboo thickets provide critical feeding habitat for Asian elephants during certain seasons. Rattans are present as climbing plants in many forest areas. The understorey contains shade-tolerant shrubs, ferns, and climbers. Orchids and other epiphytes occur on mature trees in less disturbed areas. The botanical diversity of Chunati reflects its position in the Indo-Burma hotspot, with a mix of Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian plant species creating high endemic potential and species richness relative to its area.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the coastal hill zone of southeastern Bangladesh, part of the Indo-Burman mountain system that extends along the eastern flank of the Bengal Basin. The hills are composed of folded Tertiary sedimentary rocks including sandstone, shale, and siltstones, oriented in roughly parallel ridges cut by stream valleys and drainage systems flowing westward towards the Bay of Bengal. The terrain is more deeply dissected than the gentler hills closer to Chattogram, with steeper slopes and more complex topography creating varied microclimates and habitat types within the sanctuary. Soils tend to be lateritic on ridge tops, with better-developed profiles in valley bottoms where organic matter accumulates. The geological structure creates natural drainage patterns that support the streams and water sources essential for the sanctuary's elephant population and other wildlife.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary experiences a tropical monsoon climate with very high rainfall due to the combined influence of the Bay of Bengal and the orographic effect of the coastal hills. The Chattogram-Cox's Bazar coastal hill zone is one of the wettest areas in Bangladesh, with annual rainfall frequently exceeding 3,000 millimetres (118 inches) in higher-rainfall years, most of which falls during the intense monsoon season from June through September. The high rainfall sustains the tropical moist forest ecosystem and the water sources on which elephant herds depend. Temperatures are warm throughout the year, with summer maxima around 33 to 36 degrees Celsius (91 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit) and mild winters with temperatures occasionally dropping to 13 to 15 degrees Celsius (55 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit). The dry season from November through March is the most comfortable visiting period and when wildlife is most concentrated around permanent water sources.

The coastal hill zone of southeastern Bangladesh, where Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is located, has been inhabited by indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and adjacent areas for centuries, including groups that traditionally used the hill forests for hunting, gathering, and shifting cultivation. The arrival of Bengali settlers from the plains and the expansion of commercial forestry during the colonial period transformed land use across the region. After Bangladesh's independence, population pressure in Cox's Bazar and Chattogram districts, combined with the influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar since 2017, has dramatically increased the human population in the landscape surrounding Chunati, intensifying pressures on the sanctuary's forest resources and disrupting elephant movement corridors.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary was established by the Government of Bangladesh with a specific focus on protecting critical habitat for Asian elephants in the southeastern coastal hill zone. The sanctuary was recognized as an important node in the elephant corridor connecting the forest tracts of Cox's Bazar, Chittagong, and the border forests of Myanmar. International conservation organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society and IUCN have been active in supporting research, monitoring, and management at Chunati, reflecting its international significance for Asian elephant conservation. The sanctuary has been a site of intensive study of elephant ecology and movement, providing important scientific data on elephant behavior and habitat use in Bangladesh. Management has increasingly focused on maintaining forest connectivity and addressing human-elephant conflict in surrounding communities.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary offers opportunities for wildlife observation and forest trekking in the tropical hill forests of southeastern Bangladesh. The primary attraction for wildlife enthusiasts is the possibility of observing Asian elephants in their natural forest habitat, an experience increasingly rare in South Asia. Forest trails through the sanctuary pass through diverse vegetation types including bamboo forest, semi-evergreen woodland, and stream-side habitats where wildlife activity is concentrated. Birdwatching is excellent throughout the sanctuary, with the high biodiversity of the Indo-Burma hotspot making Chunati a rewarding destination for bird enthusiasts interested in seeing species at the western edge of their Southeast Asian range. The scenic hill forest landscape with its streams and varied topography creates an attractive setting for nature-based recreation.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is located south of Chattogram along the coastal highway towards Cox's Bazar, making it accessible by road from both Chattogram city and the tourist area of Cox's Bazar. The Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway passes through or near the sanctuary, and local transport is available from both ends. Chattogram is connected to Dhaka by road, rail, and air, and Cox's Bazar has an airport with connections to Dhaka. The sanctuary has a Forest Department office and basic facilities, and permission from the Bangladesh Forest Department is required to enter. Accommodation is available in Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, and in smaller towns along the highway. The best visiting time is from November through March when conditions are comfortable and wildlife observation is most rewarding. Visitors should exercise caution given the presence of wild elephants.

Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary is a conservation priority site for Asian elephants, and its management is among the most intensively engaged in southeastern Bangladesh. The primary conservation challenge is maintaining forest connectivity between Chunati and other forest patches in the broader landscape to allow elephant movement without conflict with agricultural communities and settlements. The dramatic increase in human population density around the sanctuary following the large-scale Rohingya refugee influx into Cox's Bazar district from 2017 has significantly increased deforestation pressure, illegal wood collection, and human-elephant conflict incidents. Anti-poaching patrols, elephant monitoring, and community-based human-wildlife conflict mitigation are core management activities. International support from conservation organizations has strengthened management capacity, but the scale of landscape-level pressures requires sustained long-term engagement to secure the future of elephants and biodiversity in this critical forest zone.