The Sundarbans is the world's biggest mangrove forest, comprising 10,000 square kilometres of Bangladesh and India, with Bangladesh accounting for 60 percent of the total. The Sundarbans is the only place where Royal Bengal Tigers are available. As stated by Bangladesh Forest Department, Bangladesh had 114 tigers in 2018. This was an increase of eight from the 2015 tiger survey. In India, there were 97 tigers in 2019, up from 81 in 2017.
In comparison to Bangladesh, the Indian forest department has been working hard for a long time to enhance the population of tigers in the Indian Sundarbans. As a result, India's tiger population is growing faster than that of Bangladesh. Indigenous people that lived in the Indian Sundarbans have been relocated. At tiger sanctuaries, CCTV cameras are being installed, and public mobility is being monitored and restricted. On the other hand, just a few years ago, shootings and abductions of bandits and law enforcers in the depths of the Sundarbans were an everyday occurrence in Bangladesh. Such incidences have now largely declined. In addition, the movement of people in the Bangladesh Sundarbans is much more than in the Indian part. People are free to enter the forest for honey, golpata, fish, forest timber and firewood. As a result, tigers are becoming insecure, and conflict between tigers and humans is also on a rise.
To control public mobility in the Sundarbans, CCTV cameras should be put in strategic locations. People living in the forest should be rehabilitated outside the forest. Fish farming, cattle rearing, use of renewable fuels and artificial honey farming projects and other operations can help cut the number of people who rely on the forest. It is possible to reduce the entry of tigers in the locality by installing solar panels between the Sundarbans and the locality. Tigers prey mainly on small mammals and deer. Bushes are diminishing due to illegal timber collection, making it more difficult for tigers to hunt. In addition, water level and its salinity are increasing for storms and tidal surges. Natural reservoirs need to be created to get rid of this.
REINTRODUCTION
Besides the measures stated above, reintroduction process may protect and increase the population of tigers in the Sundarbans as the number of tigers is not growing as expected. If there were 20 adult female tigers out of 114 tigers, they should have raised at least 20-40 tigers per year. But the number of tigers is not increasing at that rate. This may be due to the lack of genetic diversity in tigers. Due to the small number of tigers, they are more likely to breed in inbreeding. This has the potential to cause morbidity and increase the mortality rate of tiger cubs. Therefore, it is necessary to bring the genetic diversity of tigers. Increasing the heterogeneity will help the tigers survive by increasing their offspring as well as their immunity and ability to adapt to any environment. Reintroduction can be an effective way to increase genetic diversity. By adopting a long-term project, it is possible to release a large number of tigers into the Sundarbans.
Steps of reintroduction:
– Collection: 10 tigers can be collected from different zoos and safari parks in Bangladesh. Newly born tiger cubs can be raised near the Sundarbans in a greater area after six months of age and trained for hunting. These tiger cubs will be released into the Sundarbans when they reach adulthood.
– To avoid conflict with existing tigers, tiger-free regions should be selected before releasing into the Sundarbans. Tigers released into the wild should be monitored by CCTV cameras.
– To give them access to food, the release of deer and pigs at the same site can be maintained. A separate captive or semi-captive establishment near the forest can be operated for the breeding and rearing of pigs and deer.
The management of human and natural factors as well as genetic factors must be taken into consideration in conserving tigers in the Sundarbans. Surviving in the face of severe climate change will be very difficult for such a small number of tigers in future. Therefore, along with other measures, reintroduction should be started to increase the number of tigers rapidly in the Sundarbans.