Climate change poses a threat to the Sundarbans region, home to millions of marginalized people and shelter for millions of animals. Wildlife trafficking, overfishing and fishing with poison have escalated the threat to wildlife, putting the biodiversity of the largest mangrove forest in the world at risk.
The threat to wildlife has grown due to river pollution from ships and industrial wastes, as well as the salinization of the water.
The forest department does not have any up-to-date statistics on wildlife species and numbers as a census of most wild animals in the Sundarbans has not been undertaken for a long time. Currently, tigers, deer and pigs are being surveyed.
Due to hunting and trafficking, tigers in the Sundarbans are at risk of extinction. There were 106 tigers in the Sundarbans as per the 2015 tiger census. Some 114 tigers were counted in the 2018 census. Currently, an ongoing tiger census is taking place.
The census results will be published on World Tiger Day next year.
The average lifespan of tigers in the Sundarbans is 18 to 20 years. Yet it is still a mystery why the carcasses of dead tigers between the ages of 12 and 14 are frequently found across the Sundarbans.
The forest department found a dead tiger on the Sarankhola range of East Sundarbans on March 19, 2021. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the Forest Department seized a tiger skin from smugglers in the Rajoi region near the Sundarbans on January 19, 2021.
Sundarban West Forest Department Divisional Officer Abu Naser Mohsin said: "All other species in the Sundarbans will live in a proper ecosystem if there are enough tigers. Thus, camera trapping is currently being used to survey tigers. In addition, a second survey is being done to determine the amount of deer and pigs that serve as tigers' primary food sources. The work is being done by a group from Jahangirnagar University. These two surveys will be published on International Tiger Day on July 29, 2024."
There were 150 to 200 crocodiles in 450 small and big rivers and canals of the Sundarbans, according to statistics dating back to 1997 from the Forest Department. The most recent survey conducted in 2017 estimated the presence of crocodiles to be from 150 to 205.
Seven risks have been identified by research for not increasing the crocodile population. These include the death of baby crocodiles caught in fishermen's nets; movement of beekeepers, facing difficulties in laying eggs; fishing with poison; river pollution by ships and industrial wastes; salinity in water; guisaap eats crocodile eggs and male crocodiles eat the babies.
Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, professor of environmental science at Khulna University, said, "Salinity in the rivers of the Sundarbans is continuously rising as a result of climate change and reduced freshwater flow. As a result, it is negatively affecting the Sundarbans' flora. It has a negative impact on crocodile reproduction. Tigers and other animals are getting sick by drinking extra salt water."
In 2006, there were 451 Irrawaddy dolphins and 225 bottlenose dolphins in the Sundarbans rivers, according to a survey by the non-governmental group Wildlife Conservation Society. Moreover, 113 Irrawaddy dolphins and 118 Shushuk dolphins were counted in a 2018 Forest Department survey.
Dolphins are dying through being caught in fishermen's nets and boat propellers. Other factors that have exacerbated the threat to dolphin survival include dolphin trafficking, overfishing, an increase in tourism, fishing with poison, and water pollution.
In addition, the Sundarbans are home to numerous other animal species, such as the guisaap, python, turtle, bird, and wild rooster. But, they were never recorded. The majority of the wild animals' most recent population estimates are unknown to the forest department.
Several species of animals are now endangered due to climate change and natural disasters and human cruelty. Fishing with poison in forest rivers and canals is adversely affecting fish and crabs. Some 19 types of fish are on the verge of extinction. Buffalo, freshwater crocodiles, one species of deer, and four species of birds have already disappeared from the forest. Dolphins, crocodiles, baby crocodiles and rare species of turtles are dying by being caught in fishermen's nets.
The last census of deer, monkeys, pigs, wild cats, or vultures in Sundarban was conducted in 1997, according to forest department. According to census data, there were between 1 to 1.5 million deer, 40,000 to 50,000 monkeys, 20,000 to 25,000 pigs, and 20,000 to 25,000 wild cats in the forest. After that, no census of these four wild animals was done.
There are 210 species of white fish, 24 species of shrimp, 14 species of crab, 43 species of mollusks, 1 species of lobster, 6 species of dolphins, including the Irrawaddy, and many other species that are on the verge of extinction.
The Sundarbans have already lost one species of wild buffalo, two species of deer, two species of rhinoceroses, and one species of freshwater crocodile.
Professor Anwarul Qadir, executive director of Sundarban Academy, stated: "For wildlife management, it is crucial to understand the status of the wildlife food chain and the number of animals in Sundarbans. The forest department should take the required actions in this regard to achieve that.”
In the patrol outposts in the Bangladesh sector of the Sundarbans, which has 4 rangers, 18 revenue offices, and a total of 18 revenue offices, only 889 people are employed, according to Sundarbans East Division Divisional Forest Officer Muhammad Belayet Hossain. Almost a hundred officer-employee roles are available, all in the eastern division.
The Sundarbans' wildlife must be kept up with a few crew, which is a difficult task. To defend the Sundarbans, every measure of defense has been strengthened, including modern-day intelligence patrols. The surveillance has also been tightened by the regional authorities.
