200 cameras to count big cats

Tiger census in the Sundarbans is set to start this October. Under the "Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project", the census will employ the "camera trapping method" and cost around Tk 3.27 crore.

According to the Forest Department, the project plans to cover 40 percent of the forest's four ranges.

All this was revealed at a press conference yesterday by Mihir Kumar Doe, Khulna region forest conservator, and Dr Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, divisional forest officer, west Sundarbans, in Khulna city.

This year's census will be conducted following the same procedure as 2015 and 2018's. It will also be carried out in the same area to facilitate comparison with the previous census, they

Satellite collar will be installed in two tigers to identify the no tiger zone. A total of 200 special cameras will be used for the census.

Under the project, the capacity of the forest department in tiger conservation will be enhanced through training and purchase of necessary equipment. Also, as part of Bangladesh's participation in the World Tiger Conference in 2022, 20 officials will go abroad to learn about tiger conservation. For this, India or Nepal is being considered as possible countries. 

Officials said the environment ministry approved the project on March 23, at an estimated cost of Tk 35.93 crore. The project will run till March 2025.

The authorities will also take measures to reduce human-tiger conflict with an aim to ensure a safe environment for the big cats in the Sundarbans.

The current tiger population in the country is yet to be known as there have been no surveys since 2018. The last survey put number of tigers in the Sundarbans at 114.