Tiger sightings are now more common than ever in the stunning Sundarbans. Tourists visiting the forest and foresters in the forest often see tigers. In the camera trapping set up for tiger census, pictures of tigers and cubs have been caught on the camera in some places. Tiger researchers and the forest department said that tiger reproduction in the forest has increased compared to before, along with the number of deaths. As a result, they expect that the number of tigers will increase in this survey.
Tour operators and tourists said that tourists were allowed to enter the Sundarbans from September 1 after a three-month ban during the breeding season of wildlife and fish. The following afternoon, tourists traveling to the Sundarbans in a boat named Crown saw a tiger swimming across the river in the Kachikhali area of the Sarankhola range.
On the morning of September 3, tourists from another boat named Sampan got a rare chance to see a tiger crossing the river while swimming in Katka area of Sarankhola range. On the same day at noon, forest guards saw another tiger swimming across the river in Alibanda area near Sharankhola range office. Their video has already gone viral on social media.
Earlier, on the morning of August 8, the tiger was seen in front of the Kachikhali Sanctuary office in Sarankhola range. The tiger came very close to the barracks of the forest guards. At that time, a forest guard captured the video of the tiger on his mobile phone. Apart from this, on February 3, three tigers were seen roaming around the pond of Chandeshwar Forest Office of Supati station of the forest for almost 24 hours.
On February 25 last year, forest department worker Mufizur Rahman spotted a mother tiger with two cubs near Katka. Tourists saw four tigers together in Chita Katka area of the forest on March 12. Tourists see a tiger cub on a fallen tree on March 30.
Sheikh Mahbub Hasan, Assistant Conservator of Forests of Sharankhola Range of Sundarbans, said that tigers have never been seen in Alibanda tourism area before. However, regular movement of tigers is seen in Kachikhali and Chandeshwar areas.
Meanwhile, from January to April of this year, tiger census was conducted in Satkhira and Khulna ranges of Sundarbans using camera trapping method. In that census, in some places of the forest, pictures of a big tiger and a baby have also been caught on camera. Apart from this, footprints of tigers have been collected through Canal Survey in the entire Sundarbans.
Tiger census will be conducted in the same manner in the Chandpai and Sharankhola ranges of the forest from next November. Two cameras will be installed at 145 points in each range, which will remain for 40 days. The images obtained by the camera trapping method and the footprints of the tiger will be reviewed at the lab in Dhaka. After that, it is planned to publish the results of tiger census on July 29, 2024 Tiger Day.
Two officials involved in the camera trapping said on condition of anonymity that the presence of tigers was found in the areas of the forest where tigers were not seen earlier. Because of that, it seems that the number of tigers has increased compared to before.
Jahangirnagar University zoology department professor and tiger researcher. MA Aziz said, tigers are seen more than before. Previously, tourists could not see tigers like this. As more tigers are seen, it can be said that the number of tigers may increase. But it can be specified when the census is over.
Director of 'Sunderban Tiger Conservation Project' and Divisional Forest Officer of Sundarban West Forest Division. Abu Nasser Md. Mohsin Hossain told Samakal, earlier tiger cubs were rarely seen. Now tiger breeding has increased. Earlier the mortality rate of tiger cubs was high. The child would die within one to one-and-a-half years due to various causes. It also reduced mortality. That's why more tigers are seen now.
He said that because the entry of tourists and fishermen is prohibited in the forest for 90 days, the tiger did not hesitate to move. That's why they have been seeing tigers since the tourists started coming in. Maybe in a week's time when the tiger sees the movement of tourists and fishermen, it will go into the forest.
Mohsin Hossain said that the recent survey showed that the number of tigers' main prey in the forest, Chitra deer and wild boar, has increased. As there is no shortage of food, tiger attacks on the locality have decreased.
The people of the area adjacent to the forest said that the tendency of tigers to come to the locality in search of food has decreased compared to earlier. That's why there are less incidents of beating tigers. Apart from this, due to the activities of RAB, the activity of forest bandits and tiger poachers in Sundarbans is less than before. Because of that, they think that the number of tigers may increase.
According to the 2013 census, there were 106 tigers in the Sundarbans. And in 2018, the number of tigers in Sundarbans was 114 according to the census done by camera trapping method.
