Staff Correspondent:

The World Tiger Day is being observed in the country as elsewhere across the globe on Thursday (July 29) to build awareness to save the remaining population of the majestic big cat from extinction.

Although the day is observed all over the world, the day is celebrated with importance in 13 countries including Bangladesh, India and Nepal due to the high population of tigers.

This year, the theme of the day in Bangladesh is “Tiger will save Sundarbans, Sundarbans will save millions of lives”. Due to the outbreak of the global epidemic Covid-19, Tiger Day is not being observed this year. However, the day is being organized virtually.

The international theme or slogan of Tiger Day-2021 is “Their Survival is in Our Hands”.

The role of tigers is very important in maintaining the balance of the forest environment. If the number of tigers decreases, the forest environment will lose its balance.

The tiger population is declining alarmingly in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans, a world heritage site and the world’s largest abode of tigers.

According to the 2015 tiger census report, there were 106 tigers in the Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans. In the 2016-17 tiger census, that number has increased to 114.

According to the Forest Department, there were 350 tigers in the Sundarbans in the 1975 survey after Independence. Then in 1982, 425 tigers were surveyed and two years later, in 1984, the Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary surveyed an area of 110 sq km and reported 430 to 450 tigers.

The Forest Department informed there were “359 tigers in 1992”. The following year, in 1993, Dhan Bahadur Tamang conducted a Pugmark survey of 350 sq km of the Sundarbans and found that there were 362 tigers.

The 2004 survey found 440 tigers. In 1996-97, the number of tigers ranged from 350 to 400. At that time, tiger footprints were calculated using the ‘Pugmark’ method.