Prof. Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder :
Every year we celebrate 29th July as International Tiger Day with a theme. This year for an exception worldwide we are celebrating the day without any theme but with a goal. The goal is to raise awareness about the extinction of tigers and the need for their protection. The day was recognized in 2010, with the 13 tiger range countries coming together to accomplish a goal to double the number of tigers by 2022. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam are members of 13 tiger range countries.
In Bangladesh, tigers were found in the forests of the Sundarbans and the Chittagong hill tracts. As of 2004, the population of Bengal tigers is estimated to range from 200 to 419 individuals, most of them in the Sundarbans. This region is the only mangrove habitat in this bioregion. Tigers survive, swimming between islands in the delta to hunt prey. Since 2001, afforestation has continued on a small scale in the Sundarbans. Bangladesh’s Forest Department is raising mangrove plantations supplying forage for spotted deer for balancing the ecosystem.
Since 2007, tiger monitoring surveys have been carried out every year by Wild Team in the Bangladesh Sundarbans to monitor changes in the Bangladesh tiger population and assess the effectiveness of conservation actions. They measure changes in the frequency of tiger tracks across the Sundarbans landscape. By 2009, the Bengal tiger population in the Bangladesh Sundarbans was estimated as 100-150 adult females or 335-500 tigers overall. By 2017, this population severely declined estimated at 84-158 individuals.
The Bangladesh Sundarbans could have one of the highest densities and largest populations of tigers anywhere in the world. There is no governmental monitoring program in place to track changes in the tiger population over time, and therefore no way of measuring the response of the population to conservation activities or threats. Most studies have focused on the tiger-human conflict in the area, but two studies in the Sundarbans East Wildlife sanctuary documented the habitat-use patterns of tigers, and the abundance of tiger prey, and another study investigated tiger parasites load. Some major threats to tigers have been identified. The tigers living in the Sundarbans are threatened by habitat destruction, prey depletion, tiger-human conflict, and direct tiger loss. A rising sea level due to climate change is projected to also cause a severe loss of suitable habitat for Sundarbans wildlife population.
The Bengal tiger ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. They are very important to maintain the food chain in the ecosystem. Unfortunately, for our monetary gain, we are doing the illegal killing of tigers and distracting their habits. As a result, in 9 types of tigers, only 4000 tigers are left in the entire world and 3 types of tigers are already extinct locally. The rest of the 6 types of tigers are endangered. Therefore, it is necessary to think about their protection and conservation. According to environmental conservation, scientist says “we are threatening our environment by putting tigers and other animals in endanger.
To balance our forest environment, the role of tigers is very important. As the number of tigers decreases, the forest environment will lose its balance. The population of tigers is declining alarmingly in the Sundarbans in Bangladesh, a world heritage site and the world’s largest abode of tigers. Tigers’ fossil shows that they have been here in South Asia, since at least 2 million years ago. At present, the population of tigers decline by 95 per cent in the last 150 years. Environmental conservation has increased awareness in the past few years. There is still a long way to go to get the positive steps to show their results. In recent times, the need for conserving the environment has become more essential.
To restore the ecological balance, we need to conserve our environment and maintain sustainable development. Day by day animals and birds are losing space to live and find food. This is the main cause of decreasing number of tigers worldwide. Tigers prefer to hunt by ambush and a pack of tigers but each tiger has its own territory. That’s why tigers need a huge place to live in. However, disrupting the forest is reducing the land for tigers. Like every human being, tigers have a unique stripe. None of them likes to live on other grounds.
We can’t just wait for nature to overcome by itself but should take some action to rapid the cycle. The Sundarbans is losing its environment for animals and trees to grow. Many trees are affected by water-rising salinity. By and by we need to save the environment and conserve the tiger and other animals from extinction. There are many rules and regulations already but we are not properly practicing them. Information is lacking on many aspects of Sundarbans tiger ecology, including relative abundance, population status, habitat selection, life history characteristics, taxonomy, genetics, and disease. The government should take some steps to stop exploiting the Sundarbans and other forests in our country. They should be also concern about monitoring the tiger and other animals’ habitat and ecosystems. We need to be understood that tigers are as important as we are in biodiversity.
(Dr. Kamruzzaman Majumder is Dean, Faculty of Science and Chairman, Department of Environmental Science, Stamford University Bangladesh).
