Bangladesh's Indifference Forces Big Cats into India
A sudden rise in tiger sightings in West Bengal’s Sundarbans is linked to a food crisis in Bangladesh, forcing the big cats to migrate across the border, officials say.
There has been a sudden increase in the number of tigers in the Sundarbans of West Bengal. India is attributing this rise to the current Bangladesh dispensation's indifference to providing food to the big cats, which is leading to their migration across the border.
It is stated that 61 per cent of the Sundarbans falls in Bangladesh, while 39 per cent is in West Bengal.
The West Bengal government’s forest department released deer, pigs and monkeys for the tigers to feed, which maintains a steady food supply for the big cats. The WB forest department alleges that the Bangladesh government has stopped providing food after the Sheikh Hasina government fell last year.
The shortage of food has even led to stray incidents of tigers entering populated areas.
Forest officials in Bangladesh acknowledged the issue. “With the current situation in Bangladesh, it is difficult for the government to prioritise the food supply for tigers in the Sundarbans,” a Bangladeshi official said.
The West Bengal government’s forest department released deer, pigs and monkeys for the tigers to feed, which maintains a steady food supply for the big cats. The WB forest department alleges that the Bangladesh government has stopped providing food after the Sheikh Hasina government fell last year.
The shortage of food has even led to stray incidents of tigers entering populated areas.
Forest officials in Bangladesh acknowledged the issue. “With the current situation in Bangladesh, it is difficult for the government to prioritise the food supply for tigers in the Sundarbans,” a Bangladeshi official said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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