Tiger population in Sundarbans increases to 114

Secretariat Correspondent: The number of Royal Bengal Tiger in Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans has increased to 114 from 106.

This was informed on Wednesday while unveiling a report on ‘Second Phase Status of Tiger in Bangladesh Sundarbans 2018’.

The second phase census began on December 1, 2016 under the USAID (Bengal Tiger Conservation Activity (BAGH) project through camera trapping methods. The survey was conducted till 24th April, 2018 in 1656-sqkm area of the Sundarbans in four phases. The total area was divided into three blocks -- Satkhira, Khulna and Sharankhola ranges, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin said.

The cameras captured a total of 2,466 images during the 249-day census.

The first-phase survey of the USAID BAGH project recorded 106 tigers in 2015.

With the latest report, the number of tiger has increased by 8 percent in three years.

The Bangladesh Forest Department jointly with Wildteam and the Smithsonian Conservation Institute, USA conducted the census.


risingbd/Dhaka/May 22, 2019/Hasan/AI