The mangrove tiger population in Sundarbans is less than previously believed According to official sources, after a census in which hidden cameras in the trees were used to count them.
Only about 100 tigers remain in the mangrove swamp located in the Sundarbans delta, far from the approximate figure that was previously counted. About 440 tigers were recorded during previous censuses in 2004 in the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and the only one where it is the habitat for these huge cats.
Experts say that a better methodology was the reason for this sudden drop in their numbers, and that they say that the hidden cameras used this time gave better accuracy in the numbers of tigers found in this region in India.
Tapan Kumar Dey, the government's wildlife conservator, said the year-long camera analysis that ended in April this year found tiger numbers to be found between 83 and 130, which gives an average of 106.
Bengal tigers live mainly in India, where in the whole country there are a number of them of 2.226, with smaller populations in Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and Myanmar.
Monirul Khan, a professor of zoology at Jahngirnagar University in Bangladesh and an expert on these types of cats at the national level said that the study confirmed his worst fears.
Khan maintains that the government must do more to protect these animals, who are seeing their numbers dwindle due to poaching and rapid development along the forest border.
The Wildlife Foundation says tigers are in serious danger of extinction around the world. Their numbers have dropped from 100.000 in 1900 to 3.200 right now.