Mounds being created in Sundarbans to help tiger breeding

The forest authorities are developing 12 artificial mounds in the Sundarbans in an effort to increase Bengal tiger population by creating an enabling breeding atmosphere for the endangered species.

Tigers usually prefer living in a high place and they always select such spots during their breeding time. But the tidal surge during the monsoon displaces the wildlife at the world's largest mangrove forest.

The planned mounds, locally called "Bagher Tila", will not only protect tigers but also six types of animals, which are considered food for the tigers, from the floods.

Besides, a sweet-water pond will be dug beside each mound under the "Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project" of the government.

Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans West Division and project director, told The Business Standard, "We hope that the tiger population will increase once the project is implemented."

Forest officials say the planned mounds will be ideal for tiger breeding and will play a catalytic role in raising the tiger population.

After giving birth to a cub, the mother tiger never wants to leave her cub alone. The freshwater ponds along the mounds will help the mother tigers a lot as they do not have to travel far to drink water, according to wildlife experts.

At the same time, these mounds will support the tiger prey species, such as spotted deer, barking deer, wild boar, monkeys, porcupines and monitor lizards.

According to the Forest Department, the mounds are being constructed in the selected areas of the Sundarbans, where there are more tigers.

The areas are Neel Kamal, Patkost, Bhomarkhali, Puspakati, Mandararia and Notabeki in Khulna and Satkhira ranges of Sundarban West Forest Division. In addition, Katka, Kachikhali, Kokilmuni, Supati, Tiarchar and Dudhmukhi in the Chadpai and Sarankhola ranges of the Eastern Forest Division are also coming under the project.

The scheme was approved by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change on 23 March 2022 at an estimated cost of nearly Tk36 crore.

Apart from the construction of 12 mounds, the project work also includes surveys of tigers, their prey animals and canals through camera trapping.

A total of nine tiger censuses have been carried out so far at the Sundarbans through government or private initiatives since the country's emergence, but the surveys before 2015 had no scientific basis.

Md Wasiul Islam, professor of Forestry and Wood Discipline of Khulna University, said, "The sea level is rising as a result of climate change. There is a risk of wildlife being washed away during high tides. So the mounds will protect the wildlife."

The wildlife expert urged the Forest Department to remain cautious so that the ecosystem is not damaged while constructing the mounds.

He also suggested constructing one or two mounds initially to see whether the animals are benefiting from the project.

Over the years, the tiger population at the mangrove forest has been alarmingly on the decline as the number of tigers stood at only 114 in the camera-trap-system survey of 2018, a major decrease from 440 found in a 2004 survey conducted without such technology.

However, the number was 8% higher in 2018 than 106 detected by the 2015 tiger census when the camera facility was first introduced, the project director stated.

"55% of the cameras we set up for the survey captured images of tigers. Meanwhile, the number of animals of prey for the tigers has also increased. As such, it can be assumed that the tiger population has risen in the Sundarbans," Abu Nasser told TBS.

Currently, a tiger census is underway and the latest figures for tigers in the country will be available when its findings are unveiled in July this year, he added.

Spotted deer constitute 79% of the tiger's food basket, while wild pigs' share is 11%. Four other types of wild animals hold the remaining 10% share, reveals a study titled "Status of Tiger Prey Species in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh", published in July 2023.

The study, conducted under the supervision of MA Aziz, a teacher at the Department of Zoology, Jahangirnagar University, also shows that there are some 1,47,357 chitra deer in the Sundarbans now apart from 45,110 wild pigs, 687 May deer, 25,000 monitor lizards, 1,52,444 monkeys and 12,241 porcupines.

"To preserve tigers, emphasis should be placed on the protection of prey animals. But the positive news is the number of prey animals has increased lately. The number of tigers will also rise, if this rate of growth can be maintained," Aziz told TBS.