Higher tiger census in Sunderbans give foresters new hope

In the 1997 census the average tiger population in the Sunderban tiger reserve area was recorded at 263 which showed an increase over 251 in 1995 and 242 in 1997.Ghosh said the tiger population in the area was expected to reach between 275 and 300 this year. Denying that there was any attempt to inflate the figure, he said the enumeration was primarily to ascertain the composition of the tiger population, which was the true indicator of growth.

“As professional managers we are not actually interested in the exact number of tigers. It does not really help,” he said.Several non-government organisations and wildlife experts have recently expressed resentment against the official figure of tiger population and said changes in bio-diversity and degradation of forest were bound to have a telling effect on the survival of the animal.They pointed out that siltation of Vidyadhari river that caused a change in local vegetation, mass collection of tiger prawn seedlings and rampant wood cutting were posing big threat to the Sunderbans. But Ghosh maintained that the Sunderban tigers had adapted themselves to the changed situation to survive and even grow in number.

“Though the tiger likes drinking sweet water,it is surprising that the animal does not frequent the sweet water ponds that we have dug up for them. It signifies that the tiger has adapted itself with the brackish water,” he pointed out.However, Ghosh admitted that the census method was not perfect. “Because of various constraints we have to collect pugmarks in the peripheral areas of the forest. Chances are always there that the right figure is not reflected in the census either by duplication of pugmarks or by leaving aside some tigers unknowingly”, he said. He said they had already requested the Wildlife Institute of India to develop a better method to be taken up for tiger census in the Sunderbans.A team of reporters which was taken round for a field visit, found a group of enumerators busy collecting pugmarks from the river banks at Pirkhali.

Putting on tiger guards and masks on the back side of the head the enumerators were working inside a net erected as fencing around the pugmarks. Two persons were standing guard on both sides with rifles pointed to the forest. “It is a highly risky job as you never know when the tiger will pounce upon you from behind without giving any chance”, a forest official said. Ranjit Haldar, who was a member of the team, had lost his father when a tiger killed him during the time of pugmark collection in 1995. Haldar later got service in the forest department on compassionate ground.

Santosh Roy, who had accompanied a team that recovered the body of Ranjit’s father was also in the present group. According to the official reports, the tigers of the reserve area had strayed out into nearby villages 110 times over the past 11 years. Out of these cases, tigers were tranquilised ten times and sent to the zoo or released into the forest. On nine occasions they were killed by the villagers. During the same period there were 193 cases of human casualties mainly of fishermen and honey collectors.

Besides, five forest personnel were killed in the incidents.Denying that the Sunderban tigers were maneaters, Ghosh said such incidents took place only when the people failed to maintain a minimum distance with the animal.He also denied incidents of tigers migrating to the Bangladesh area by crossing over the raimangal river. “It is not possible that such incidents can go unnoticed”, he said.