Poaching ruins animal sanctuary of Sunderbans

An interesting report was published in a local daily which depicted a graphic picture of illegal poaching of deer along with tiger skins recovered.  Naturally the loss of deer population is higher as killing of deer is easier and both its meat and skin are salable. In contrast, killing a tiger is quite a dangerous venture when there are chances of the killer getting killed. It appears from a table included in the report that in 2014 and 2015 a larger number of skins were brought to the market compared to earlier years. Furthermore, all illegal skins were not recovered, and since the figures are based on illegal skins actually recovered, the total number of illegally traded skins is bound to be much higher.

Like smuggling, poaching of tiger and deer is reported to be rapidly increasing, which is regrettable. Sunderbans, one of the world's few animal sanctuaries, is under threat of human incursion, given that our population is speeding ahead day by day. Quite possibly, in the days to come, the forest will no longer be safe as a habitat for the deer, tiger, snakes and many other species of animals and birds that are still living there.

S. A. Mansoor

Dhaka.

sam@dhakacom.com