Tiger, tiger burning bright in the Sunderbans

Deccan Herald , Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Correspondent : Staff Reporter
At a time when India is facing its worst tiger crisis ever, the mangrove forests of the Sunderbans are teeming with the magnificent carnivore.

The riverine island of Sunderbans harbour the highest number of tigers in a single integrated habitat, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the present-day global tiger population estimated at over 600 (Indian count — 274 and Bangladesh — 330), says a report, quoting official sources of both the countries, published by Junglees, an NGO promoting wildlife conservation.

“Though the tiger population in the country, according to the last census report in 2002 is 3,642, no other geographical area in the country accounts for such high concentration of tigers,” says Raja Chatterjee, Junglees editor and a wildlife conservationist.

Official tiger census figures report 47 tigers in Ranthambore, 17 in Sariska and 31 in Panna.

Anti-poaching measures

Sunderban Tiger Reserve field director Pradip Vyas feels a slew of anti-poaching measures like augmentation of communication network and checking of illegal entry into the forests as well as involvement of the local populace in joint forest management has done the trick in increasing the tiger population in the area when the big cat is vanishing elsewhere.

“This also accounts for the success of the Project Tiger launched here in 1972, though it is drawing flak in other parts of the country for the rapid decline in tiger population,” he observes.

Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to create a National Wildlife Crime Prevention Bureau and a Special Task Force for Project Tiger following reports of disappearance of the national animal from Sariska in Rajasthan and in Bandhavgarh, where tigers have not been sighted for months. Panna in Madhya Pradesh was recently in the news with reports of 21 young adults and nine breeding tigers missing since the last two years.

With alarming reports pouring in from different parts of the country documenting the loss of tigers, Sunderbans remains an island of hope for the beleaguered animal.

 
SOURCE : Deccan Herald, Wednesday, May 04, 2005
 


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