Bagerhat – A She Royal Bengal tiger, caught with wounds in its right leg from the Sundarbans on February 7, died at Bangabandhu Safari Park in Gazipur on Wednesday night despite a ‘successful’ surgery.
Keeping it secret for the last two days, the Bangladesh Forest Department confirmed the tigress’ death news only on Friday morning.
The veterinary physicians who operated upon it claimed the surgery a success but the tigress succumbed to her injures barely 10 days after the operation.The authorities concerned buried the remains of the man-eater after peeling off its hide on Wednesday.
An endangered wild animal, the Bengal Tiger mainly lives in the world’s largest mangrove forest Sundarbans. It is the national animal of Bangladesh.
Sources at the Forest Department said the injured female tiger was recovered from the Sundarbans on February 7 and it was sent to the Safari Park the following day.
An eight-member team of veterinary physicians of Bangladesh Agricultural University, led by Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman, reportedly conducted a successful operation in its leg on February 9. The tigress regained its sense the following day.
The wild animal reportedly ruptured the wounded part of her leg through biting after regaining its sense, deteriorating its condition further which eventually caused her death.
Dr Mizanur Rahman said the tigress suffered injures in her right leg after getting caught in a trap made by nylon rope in the Sundarbans.
He claimed they provided every necessary treatment to the national animal but the feeble tigress died ultimately.
Asked the reason for keeping the death news secret, forest Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, conservator of Forests (Wildlife and Nature Conservation Circle) of the department, said as they got deeply shocked over the death of the tiger they did not disclose it but informed high officials.
Replying to another question, he also said the there was no negligence in its treatment and the physicians tried their best to protect the wild animal.
He said they recovered the skin of the man-eater after conducting its autopsy.
Tapan said the autopsy report was sent to the laboratory of the veterinary department.
He underscored the need for establishing a specialized hospital for wild animals with modern treatment facilities in the country. “There’s no quality hospital for the treatment of the wild animals in the country, especially for those live in the Sundarbans.”
A good number of poachers are active in the Sundarbans who kill tigers either by firing shots or using trap to smuggle organs, pelts, and bone of the wild animals.
Official data showed that around 32 tigers were killed in the last 12 years in the Sundarbans, but the unofficial count is much higher.
According to Tiger Census 2004, conducted jointly by Bangladesh and India, there were about 440 tigers, 419 are adults and 21 are cubs, in the Sundarbans.
Tiger poaching and trade, tiger-human conflict, deer poaching and trade, sea level rise, saline intrusion, water contamination, industrial pollution are main threats to the tiger and the Sundarbans. – UNB
