DHAKA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Forest Department of Bangladesh has started setting up a total of 1,330 cameras at 665 spots in the Sundarbans, world's largest mangrove forests, to count tigers, deer and pigs.
Abu Naser, forest official of Sundarbans west zone and director of Sundarbans Tiger Conservation Project, told Bangladesh private news agency UNB that the camera installation work started at Kalabogi Ecotourism Center on Sunday morning, adding that apart from counting tigers, this year, the forest department will count deer and pigs as well under the project.
The project has been divided into two categories -- camera trapping and canal survey. Primarily, the survey along both sides of the canals in Sundarbans has started and through the process, the movement and pugmarks of tigers will be pointed out, according to the official.
Through the camera trapping process, the authorities concerned will take snaps for two years and later they will analyze the photos captured, and after that they will figure out the numbers, he said.
Tigers mostly hunt deer, but they also eat pigs, monkeys and crabs and another survey will be conducted to figure out their eating habits in 2024, he added.
Three hundred and forty members under 49 village tiger response teams and 185 members of community patrol groups under the four ranges will be given training to conduct the survey.
In 2015, the number of tigers in the Sundarbans was 106 and in 2018, that number went up to 114. Of these, 63 were mature, 18 between the age of 12-14 months, and 33 were cubs. ■
