Today, Monday (July 29), is World Tiger Day. This day is observed every year on July 29 to raise awareness among the general public about protecting tiger habitats and tiger conservation.
The day was first introduced during the Tiger Summit held in St. Petersburg in 2010.
This year, the results of the tiger census in the Sundarbans were expected to be released on Tiger Day. However, this will not be happening. Forest officials have stated that due to the suspension of internet services caused by the movement and curfew, the work could not be completed. Therefore, the results will be announced in August.
Previously, on November 5, 2023, former State Minister for Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, Begum Habibun Nahar, inaugurated the tiger census survey work at the Hardbaria Eco-Tourism Center in the Sundarbans East Forest Division.
Dr. Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, Project Director of the Tiger Conservation Project and Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans West Forest Division, told Banglanews that the census work could not be completed recently due to internet outages. The results could not be announced on Tiger Day because of the inability to exchange information via email or hold online Zoom meetings. He hopes to release the results by August 15.
He further explained that the tiger census was conducted using the “camera trapping” method. A research team of approximately 45 members used 1,216 cameras for the census.
It is worth noting that the first tiger survey in the Sundarbans began in 2013-14, which found 106 tigers in the area. The most recent survey in 2018 recorded the number of tigers in the Sundarbans as 114.
