Number of tigers in Sundarbans rises to 125

The tiger population in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, has increased by 11 since the last survey in 2018, according to the latest "Sundarbans Tiger Survey 2024".

In the 2018 survey, the number of tigers was recorded at 114, whereas 125 tigers were found in the latest survey.

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, shared this information during a press conference held at the Secretariat today.

Rizwana said, "The 2023-24 tiger survey conducted in the Sundarbans found the tiger population to be 125, with a density of 2.64 tigers per 100 square kilometres of the forest."

"To determine the tiger population, the first modern camera trapping survey was conducted in 2015, which estimated the tiger population at 106. At that time, the tiger density per 100 square kilometres was 2.17."

The 2023-24 survey also observed a significant number of tiger cubs, though they were not included in the official count due to the high mortality rate among cubs as they grow into adulthood.

MA Aziz, professor of Zoology at Jahangirnagar University, said, "The Sundarbans provides a favourable environment for tiger breeding, and it is likely that the tiger population will continue to grow in the future."