Tigers under threat

Print Edition

User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 

Back Page

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Author / Source : MIR MOSTAFIZUR RAHAMAN

DHAKA, JULY 27: Experts have said that the number of Royal Bengal Tigers in the Sundarbans is far lower than government estimates and that the world famous creatures are in danger of becoming extinct. “Government estimates place the number of tigers in the Sundarbans at around 430, but my research found there are around 290,” said Dr Monirul Hasan Khan, associate professor of the Zoology department of Jahangirnagar University.
Dr Khan is the author of the book “Tigers of Sundarbans' which will be published on July 29 to mark World Tiger Day.
Khan believes 220 tigers reside in Bangladesh while 70 to 75 live in India’s part of the Sundarbans. He said the government’s method of counting tigers using footprints produces inaccurate figures.
State Minister for Forest and Environment Dr Hasan Mahmud told The Independent that according to the 2004 census, there were about 420 Royal Bengal Tigers in the Sundarbans.
He claims the number of tigers in the Sundarbans recently increased to almost 450.
Conservator of Forest Dr Tapan Kumar Dey vehemently disagreed with the findings of Dr Khan and said the government census was was accredited by international bodies and is more scientifically sound than other methodologies.
“Among these 121 are male, 298 are female and 21 are calves” he added.
Dr Khan said that destruction of the forest area is a bigger threat to the existence of tigers than poaching. He noted that tiger poaching is rare in the Sundarbans, however the poaching of deer and other animals eaten by tigers is a threat to their survival.
A study by WWF scientists and partner organisations found that the effects of climate change may shrink Bangladesh's Sundarbans tiger habitat by 96 per cent, potentially reducing the tiger population to fewer than 20 breeding individuals.
Furthermore, an estimated sea level rise of 11.2 inches above 2000 levels by 2070 means this unique mangrove ecosystem could disappear within half a century.
Worldwide, tigers occupy only 7 percent of their historic range and there are only 3,200 left in the wild. The WWF study encourages local governments to conserve and expand mangrove forests without delay and to crack down on poaching.
State Minister for Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud said several government projects are underway to save the tigers, including the formation of a special strike force, a coordinated programme with India, and the creation of three tranquiliser gun teams that are equipped with  boats and vehicles.
“They will be supported by a wildlife crime control unit with the help of the World Bank. All these projects fall under the Sundarbans management programme,” the state minister said.He pointed out that at least 80 villages adjacent to the Sundarbans have been included in the government’s Sundarbans management programme.
He said the 300-member force will be deployed in and around the Sundarbans, one of the world's last retreats of the tigers. The decision followed the recent seizure of three tiger skins and a large quantity of bones, which was the biggest haul of illegal tiger parts in decades.
However increasing demands for tiger bones and skin and deer skins for medicinal and leisure purposes in other parts of the world are endangering the majestic animals that are formally protected under Wildlife Act 1974.
But the arrest of a poacher with tiger skins and bones earlier this year raised fears that an organised gang of poachers are operating in the mangrove forests. "The forest department employees and forest guards need more training, because they must confront poachers who operate with sophisticated guns, boats, vehicles and networks," the state minister said.
He said a project wildlife crime control unit under the World Bank amounting to US$36 million has been taken with tiger populated South Asian nations of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.