Tourists have recently spotted three tigers together in the Kotka wildlife sanctuary of the Sundarbans.
According to them, two of the tigers attacked another and pushed it into the river. The incident occurred on Sunday in the Betmor area of the sanctuary, near the riverbank.
Passengers of the tourist vessel MV Alaska witnessed the three tigers while returning from the Sundarbans, said the vessel’s guide, Md Al Amin.
He added that their vessel was near the Betmor canal in the afternoon when the tourists noticed the three tigers together in one location.
"The tourists witnessed the extraordinary sight of three tigers together and captured the scenes on camera. Among the three tigers, two were male and one was female."
Al Amin said two tigers had come from the Kotka office area, and one tiger had crossed the Betmor river to join them. "However, the tiger coming from the Betmor area was attacked by the other two, who pushed it into the river. The tiger remained in the water for quite some time before swimming back to the forest and fleeing."
He captured these moments on camera.
Md Sohaibur Rahman Suman, an official at the Kotka Wildlife Sanctuary Centre under the Eastern Sundarbans’ Sharankhola Range, confirmed that tourists aboard the MV Alaska witnessed three tigers together in the Betmor area.
On January 15, members of the Kotka forest patrol team had also seen four tigers together in the Badamtala area of the Kotka-Kochikhali boundary, he said, adding that among those, two were adults and two were cubs.
Earlier, in February last year, three tigers were spotted together near the Chandeshwar forest office. That sighting lasted 20 hours, during which forest rangers captured photos and videos of the tigers. Those visuals, when shared on social media, caused a sensation.
According to the Forest Department, the Bangladesh portion of the Sundarbans spans an area of 6,017 square kilometres, with 4,832 square kilometres of forest and 1,185 square kilometres of wetlands.
The 2015 tiger census recorded 106 tigers in the Sundarbans, which increased to 114 in 2018. The 2024 tiger census indicates a rise in numbers, with the current population standing at 125.
Among the Sundarbans’ four ranges, the Sharankhola Range has the highest concentration of tigers.
The decline in poaching and the restoration of suitable habitats are believed to be contributing factors to the growing tiger population in the Sundarbans.