Tiger population in Bangladesh’s Sundarbans reaches 125

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The tiger population in the Bangladeshi section of the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest globally, has risen to 125, according to a government survey released on Tuesday.

This represents an increase from the 114 tigers reported in the 2018 survey.

Royal Bengal tigers are indigenous to the Sundarbans, which encompasses over 10,000 square kilometers (more than 3,860 square miles), with about 60% located in Bangladesh. The current density of tigers in this area is now 2.64 per 100 square kilometers (approximately 6.84 per 100 sq. mi), situated in the delta formed by the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers along the Bay of Bengal.

The survey credits the government’s conservation efforts with contributing to this increase in the wild cat population. Since 2018, the tiger population has grown by 9.65%, and there has been a 17.92% increase since 2015.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, presented the survey findings at a news conference in Dhaka on Tuesday.

In 2015, the Sundarbans was home to 106 tigers, with a density of 2.17. This number rose to 114 by 2018, with a density of 2.55.

The latest survey also documented 21 tiger cubs, compared to only five cubs noted in the 2015 and 2018 surveys. However, due to the high mortality rate among cubs, these were not included in the total count, as Hasan explained during the briefing.

The survey employed a methodology that analyzed photos and data, with input from experts in India, New Zealand, and the US. Conducted between January 2023 and March 2024, the survey team utilized 1,210 cameras across 605 grids in the Sundarbans for a total of 318 days.

Despite the positive trend, experts have called for protective measures for these magnificent animals, as they face threats in their coastal mangrove habitats from unsafe infrastructure projects, climate change-related salinity, frequent cyclones, and rising sea levels.

Adviser Rizwana Hasan described the increase in the tiger population as a "source of joy" and highlighted that the government has designated 53.52% of the forest as protected to support tiger conservation efforts.