Today is World Tiger Day. World Tiger Day has been celebrated for many years with various themes in mind to create mass awareness for tiger conservation. But last year due to the global pandemic of Corona virus (Covid-19) no program was celebrated locally. But today (Thursday) in 4 ranges of Sundarbans "Tiger is our pride, everyone's responsibility to protect," the day will be celebrated keeping this theme in front.
The world famous Sundarbans is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, the national animal and symbol of heroism. Tigers are the main regulators of forest biodiversity, food chains and habitat cycles. In the last survey in 2018, the number of tigers was 114. After that, the dead bodies of 4 tigers were recovered in a gap of about two and a half years. During the smuggling, a smuggler with 1 tiger skin was arrested by Department-8 and Forest Department. 5 tigers were reduced from that calculation. The forest department does not have an accurate count of how many tigers there are in the Sundarbans at the moment. Because even though the last four years have passed, no tiger census has been done by any local or international organization. Due to various reasons, the fate of Sundarbans tigers is now in tension. The demands of a separate ministry for the protection of Sundarbans are from different quarters.
According to tiger expert Khosru Chowdhury, on this day in 2010, in St. Petersburg, Russia, representatives of 13 wild-dwelling countries of the world signed an agreement to protect tigers. Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was present there on behalf of Bangladesh. The conference was sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Financed by the World Bank. The objective was to double the number of tigers by 2022. The slogan was tiger survival is in our hands.
The forest department has recovered the dead bodies of 4 tigers from the pastures of different areas of Eastern Sundarbans in the span of only about two and a half years. Post-mortem examination revealed that the tigers died due to old age, the forest department said. But there are many rumors about the same death of 4 tigers. On August 21, 2019, one from Chaprakhali area of the forest, one from Kabar Khali area on February 3, 2020, one from Char in Dhanchebaria on March 19, 2021 and one tiger dead body was recovered on January 28, 2022 this year. In that case, the question of whether the number of tigers is increasing or decreasing is now circulating in the public mind.
According to the Deputy Curator of Chittagong Zoo, Dr Md Shahadat Hossain, according to the 2018 survey, if there are 20 adult female tigers among the 114 tigers in the Sundarbans, there should have been an increase of at least 20 to 40 tigers every year. But the number of tigers is not increasing there. This may be due to the tiger's lack of genetic diversity. As there are few tigers, there is a high possibility of inbreeding among them. This increases the death rate of tiger cubs. Therefore, in tiger conservation, besides the management of human and natural factors, attention should be paid to the genetic issue. For this reason, the genetic diversity of tigers is also used. If the heterogeneity can be increased, the tiger breed will increase as well as it will help the tiger to survive by increasing the immunity of the tiger and adapting to any environment. According to him, according to the 2019 survey, the number of tigers in India is 96. But this number was 87 in 2017. 9 tigers have increased in just 3 years. The forest department has been trying for a long time to increase the number of tigers in the Indian Sundarbans compared to Bangladesh and has taken strong steps. As a result, the number of tigers in India is increasing faster than in Bangladesh. At the rate at which climate change has started in the southern region of Bangladesh rapidly, in order to protect Sundarban tigers, management of human and natural factors must also be looked into the genetic issue. With such a small number of tigers, it will be very difficult to survive in the future in the face of severe climate change. Therefore multi-pronged steps should be taken to rapidly increase the number of tigers through reintroduction along with other measures.
Executive Director of Khulna Sundarban Academy, Dr. Md. Anwarul Qadir told this correspondent that environment-friendly areas are needed for tigers to roam. The breeding area of the tiger should be ensured to be suitable. The protection of the world's largest mangrove Sundarbans requires cooperation from all quarters including the administration. In response to a question whether tigers have increased, he said that tourists have reportedly seen tigers during their travels to the Sundarbans. If that is true, the number of tigers may increase. Tiger census will be done next winter season. Then the exact number will be known. Sundarbans Day has been celebrated on 14th February since 2001.
A separate ministry is needed for Sundarbans protection. Otherwise protection of Sundarbans will become difficult.
Nirmal Kumar Pal, DFO of Wildlife and Nature Conservation Department (Wildlife) of Sundarbans told Manavkanth, Sundarbans Day will be celebrated in 4 ranges of Sundarbans with the motto that tigers are responsible for protecting our pride. At this moment, I cannot tell the exact number of tigers in the Sundarbans. However, tourists and people of various professions who have become wild have seen tigers. It seems that tigers have increased in the Sundarbans. Tiger census will be started in November or December next winter season to get accurate count of tigers. To protect wild animals, a 60-kilometer wire fence will be constructed in the Dhansagar area of East Sundarbans due to the overflowing of the Bhola river. Ponds will be dug to retain fresh water in the forest. Habitat for wild animals including tigers of Sundarbans has been increased.