Only 100 Tigers Remain in Bangladesh’s Sundarban Forests, Survey Shows

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The 3,860-mile mangrove forest is one of the big cats' largest natural habitats

Only some 100 tigers currently roam the Sundarban forests of Bangladesh, a new survey has discovered, indicating far fewer big cats than previously thought in one of their largest global habitats.

The yearlong survey that ended in April was based on footage from hidden cameras and found the true number of tigers to be between 83 and 130, Agence France-Presse reported.

“So plus or minus we have around 106 tigers in our parts of the Sundarbans,” Tapan Kumar Dey, the Bangladesh government’s wildlife conservator, told AFP. “It’s a more accurate figure.”


The number represents a precipitous drop from the 440 figure included in the last tiger census in 2004, although experts say in hindsight the earlier calculation may have been inaccurate since it was based on a study of the animals’ paw prints or pugmarks.

The news from Bangladesh is in contrast to South Asian neighbor India — home to about 70% of the global tiger population — where the Environment Ministry said in January that the number of tigers had risen to 2,226 from 1,411 in 2008. There are apparently 74 tigers on the Indian side of the Sundarbans, the mangrove forest that stretches for nearly 4,000 miles across both countries.

Monirul Khan, a zoology professor at Bangladesh’s Jahangirnagar University and the country’s foremost expert on tigers, stressed that the government needs to intervene in order to protect the animals from poaching and their habitat from destruction through development.

The number of wild tigers worldwide is currently estimated at just 3,200 compared to 100,000 in 1900, and WWF says they are in danger of soon becoming extinct.

Only 100 Tigers Remain in Bangladesh's Sundarban Forests, Survey Shows

 

[The Huskar]

Too much human settlement in all of the Sunderbans is slowly taking its toll.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

BD and India needs to co-ordinate to preserve the rare species of Tiger.

 

[bongbang]

BD and India needs to co-ordinate to preserve the rare species of Tiger.

Not only tigers but deer, crocodile, gangetic dolphins etc.
These are all extinct due to Ganga/Farakka barrage on Indian side and increase of saline water in the rivers of Sunderban.

 

[Quibbler]

Not only tigers but deer, crocodile, gangetic dolphins etc.
These are all extinct due to Ganga/Farakka barrage on Indian side and increase of saline water in the rivers of Sunderban.

Interesting . Could you provide me with the link to the source. I would like to read up more about it .

 

[[Bregs]]

Not only tigers but deer, crocodile, gangetic dolphins etc.
These are all extinct due to Ganga/Farakka barrage on Indian side and increase of saline water in the rivers of Sunderban.

Some water must be released for tigers to survive if salinity of sea water is the reason for dwindling numbers. Sunderbans has been one of the best naturally protected reserve for this magnificent animal, because of its topography its hard for the hunters to hunt it deep inside sunderbans

 

[bongbang]

Interesting . Could you provide me with the link to the source. I would like to read up more about it .

Google: Effects on Sunderban by Farakka barrage.
Agriculture, forestry, rivers, environment, human and animals all are affected by this. One example our pride "Hilsa of Padma" too is extinct today due to this barrage

Farakka Barrage

The Ganges Water Diversion: Environmental Effects and Implications - Google Books

Threats to the Sundarbans Mangrove Wetland Ecosystems From Transboundary Water Allocation in the Ganges Basin: A Preliminary Problem Analysis | Shafi Noor Islam - Academia.edu

Water Salinity Investigation in the Sundarbans Rivers in Bangladesh | Shafi Noor Islam - Academia.edu

Some water must be released for tigers to survive if salinity of sea water is the reason for dwindling numbers. Sunderbans has been one of the best naturally protected reserve for this magnificent animal, because of its topography its hard for the hunters to hunt it deep inside sunderbans

They are releasing some like 50%. But nature will be always affected due to slight amount of change.

 

[Arthur]

Salinity is an increasing threat to the plants and animal species of Sundarban Coupled with human aggression for economic purposes. Last year while visiting the area for an survey,I have seen dying Sundari trees in most of the areas.According to a survey from 2013 in 44 out of 55 of the Beat areas 'Sundari" trees are dying slowly.

The threat is that,if the Sundari trees dies,the height of the forest roof will decrease. Which will affect its soil as the heat form the sun and ray will directly reach the soil and make the soil hard.Hard soil is not a favorable condition for the mangrove plants.
Less plants means less food,less food mans less deer(or say Hunt) meaning decreasing number of Tigers.

Look at the tree tops :

The mud from tidal waves dries up and cracks faster than it used to be even four-five years ago.Tide water doesn't reach many canals and areas anymore or became irregular,previously recorded as active tidal:

I had lots of personal snaps/pictures from those visits,but i lost the collection last year while my laptop crashed.

 

[mkg00179504]

This is really bad. I am die hard fan of big cats mostly lions and tigers. Even am saving right now so I can go to safari parks in South Africa and see big wild cats. Bengal tiger is one of my favorite and am crazy about its sheer strength and power. I have been to some zoo in the U.S, but those lazy cats are often sleeping.

 

[Srinivas]

on the lighter note .... add bangladesh cricket team player number to 100 to get total tigers in BD.