Local authorities have recently expressed their will to put resources and man-power to fight against poaching of the Bengal tiger, which is considered a species at risk of extinction.
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Police in the southwestern Bangladeshi city of Koyra Upazila said the suspected poachers were killed in the nearby Sunderbans nature area, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to a significant population of the endangered animals.
“The poachers first fired at us as we raided their den at Mandarbaria canal in the forest. Six poachers were killed in the shooting”, said the head of the local police, Harendranath Sarker.
A recent government survey found that there are about 106 tigers left in the Bangladeshi part of the Sundarbans, which stretch into India.
He said police found the skins of three adult Bengal tigers, measuring 3.5 metres, and seized four rifles and a pistol.
During the previous census in 2004, some 440 tigers were recorded in the Sundarbans, one of the last remaining habitats for the big cats. Many wildlife experts said the 10,000 square kilometre forest, straddling Bangladesh and India, could not have room for more than 200 tigers.
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The gunfight was reported two weeks after the census was released revealing that the number of the Sundarban’s famous Bengal Tiger population was far fewer than it was previously thought, sparking an uproar among environmentalists, who demanded intensified anti-poaching campaigns.
