Crocodiles also facing trouble in Sundarbans

The crocodile population in the Sundarbans has declined further due to rapid destruction of their breeding grounds and unchecked poaching, according to the preliminary findings of a new crocodile survey carried out in the mangrove forest.

The survey predicts that there are now only 120-130 crocodiles in the rivers and canals of the forest while the number was about 200 in 2004.

Bangladesh Forest Department and the Centre for Advanced Research in Natural Resources & Management (CARINAM), a wildlife research organisation, jointly conducted the survey.

A Tk 1.24 crore Crocodile Survey Project was taken with financial support from the World Bank comprising of an eighty-member team of experts and trained forest officials, divided into four groups, to collect field-level data from four ranges of the forest from January 31 to February 15, 2016.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) was used for the first time during the survey to identify the locations of the crocodiles.

Forest officials said the Forest Department is now examining the data collected from the field level, and it is expected that the actual number of the Sundarbans' crocodiles would be announced in May next.

Divisional forest officer and survey coordinator M Jahidul Kabir said it is not possible to say the exact figure of crocodiles, without examining the field-level data. "But we, based on field-level data, can primarily predict that there would be about 100 crocodiles in the Sundarbans."

Wildlife experts, who took part in the survey, observed that there is a huge possibility of enhancing crocodile population to several thousands in the Sundarbans, but its number has declined due to destruction of their habitat.

Rapid destruction of crocodiles' breeding grounds, unchecked poaching and fishermen's indiscriminate access to rivers and canals contribute to the rapid fall in the crocodile population of the forest, Dr SMA Rashid, chief executive of CARINAM said.

Divisional forest officer (Sundarbans East) M Saidul Islam said the Forest Department established a crocodile breeding centre at Karamjal point of the Sundarbans to save the endangered salt-water crocodiles.

"About 19 salt-water crocodiles have already been released to the canals and rivers of the Sundarbans from the breeding centre...now there are also 264 crocodiles in the centre," he added.

Wildlife is currently facing various troubles due to the unchecked poaching and destruction of natural forests. According to the Tiger Census 2015, tiger population also declined to only 106 in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans in 2015 but it was 440 in 2004.