NATURE
PROTECTING THE KILLERS
“S craft round and rams her prow
top the boat!” Montu swings the
TIM LAMAN X3
up the bank. Grabbing my stout stick and pepper spray, I jump down into the knee-deep tidal mud. A flurry of red fiddler crabs dart into their holes. I peer through the trees ahead for any sign of movement, betraying the presence of my carnivorous quarry. Adrenalin surges through my veins as images of outstretched claws and sharp fangs flash through my mind. My stick feels more like a twig. If there was a tiger in there, would I even know before it pounced? Could I pull the safety cap off my pepper spray in time or would panicked fumbling be the death of me? And would it even work against 120kg (265lb) of rippling muscle? The Bengal tigers that live here in the Sundarbans forest of India and Bangladesh kill about 50 people a year – and I’m no less edible. The difference is that I’ve chosen to enter this mangrove forest, whereas poor Bangladeshi villagers who rely on the forest for firewood, fish and honey have no other option. Tigers have attacked people in this region for as long as the locals can remember. Records over the past 100 years or so show an overall decrease in tiger-related deaths, though the underlying reason for this trend is unclear. Even so, Bangladesh remains one of the world’s hotspots for humancarnivore conflict and the issue is at the forefront of tiger conservation here.
The author heads ashore, armed with her stout stick
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Vol.3 Issue 1
My legs pull hard against the sucking sludge as I stagger awkwardly towards my target. It’s a set of what appear to be tiger tracks – or ‘pugmarks’ – leading up the muddy bank and disappearing among the spiky mangrove roots jutting from the forest floor. I’m with a team from the Bangladesh Forest Department, the Zoological Society of London and the Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, and we’re undertaking our biennial survey of the area’s tigers.
in his early 20s, he looks no more than 16. But four years ago he lost his older brother to a tiger, and his slight frame now shoulders the responsibility of providing for his sibling’s widow and child, as well as the rest of his family. Nevertheless, he is still determined to help conserve these dangerous cats. Like most victims, Alam’s brother was killed while working within the mangroves. The majority of attacks occur when fishermen leave their boats and step onto
The Bengal tigers that live in the Sundarbans kill about 50 people a year – and I’m no less edible Tigers are almost impossible to see in the dense undergrowth, but they need to swim between the mangrove islands to patrol their territories and so can’t avoid leaving pugmarks in the muddy banks. We count these to measure how the population is faring across the forest. “Tiger tracks!” I yell to Alam, who is sitting in the boat. Beaming broadly, he notes down the precise GPS location. Alam has been with the Sundarbans Tiger Project since its inception in 2005. Though
the canal bank at the forest edge. This thought lingers as I stand here – on the canal bank, at the forest edge. Health and safety guidance For what seems like the thousandth time, I run through the health and safety guidance for walking in tiger country. If a tiger appears, don’t turn and run – that will just make its pursuit instinct kick in and it will be on you in a millisecond. Always face the tiger. Stand firm. Make E
A camera-trap records a tiger as it patrols the forest