UNB, Bagerhat :
While the Sundarbans is gradually turning to be a hostile habitat for the wildlife because of its changing environment, the hunting of wild animals is keeping abreast with it,
making the conservation of the forest harder than any time before.
The Forest Department records show that at least 49 tigers-the flagship species of world’s largest mangrove forest-have been killed over the last one decade from 2001 to 2013 due to various reasons, including straying of the big cat in human habitat and hunting by smugglers.
However, people living in the regions claimed the number should be much higher because the incidents of tiger killing by smugglers are taking place very frequently in their vicinity.
The fact that the law enforcement agencies arrest some smugglers with one or two tiger hides once in a while does not reflect the magnitude of the smuggling. Smugglers lay traps made of nylon ropes as well as use gunfire to hunt tigers, the local people said.
They also added that the hunters also hunted a huge number of spotted deer-the main prey of the big cats-and saltwater crocodile are hunted from the Sundarbans.
Tiger cubs are also hunted alive and then smuggled abroad through an international wildlife smuggling network. The smuggling is based on several villages inside the Sundarbans, the local people added.
Talking to UNB, divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Zone Amir Hossain Chowdhury said the Wildlife Circle under the Forest Department has been strengthened to prevent the smuggling of whildlife in the Sundarbans.
Bangladesh has a tiger population of 440, shows the Forest Department record.
According to the Saint Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation, the 13 tiger range countries are committed to striving to double the number of wild tigers across their range by 2022 by doing everything possible to effectively manage, preserve, protect, and enhance habitats.
But, scientists think that it is quite impossible to increase tiger population in the Sundarbans to double by 2022 in a limited forest area, only 6,017 square kilometers.
The nine-point Dhaka declaration, adopted by 13 tiger range countries at the 2nd Tiger Stocktaking Conference in September this year, also recommended a number of actions to double the tiger population by 2022.
The proposed measures include increasing investment in frontline staff remunerations and other facilities, conserving tiger habitats, enhancing collaboration and knowledge sharing, restoring tigers in their former habitats, developing new partnerships with business and industries, increasing flow of funds, building awareness and engaging the communities to deal with human-tiger conflict.
