The majestic Bengal tiger is one of the world's most iconic creatures. At the same time, it is one of the most revered and feared animals in the world. But even if this is the case, the Bengal tiger is already being threatened into extinction by poaching. The fact that humans are spreading into their shrinking habitats also contributes to the decreasing number of the majestic creature.
According to researchers, the Bengal tiger could completely disappear from one of its last remaining strongholds called the Sundarbans in just 50 years. The said stronghold is a huge mangrove forest which crosses India and Bangladesh.
For over 100 years, the world has lost 95% of all its tigers. Leaving the wild with only less than 4000 left. The remaining population of the Bengal tiger is scattered throughout some Asian countries and in the Sundarbans.
However, the large mangrove, their last stronghold, is already shrinking rapidly, loosing more than 10,000 km² to sea levels that keep on rising or submerging some of its low-lying islands.
just 11 years from 2004 to 2015 the count of Bengal tigers Have crashed from 440 to a very low 106 In their stronghold in Sundarbans, Bangladesh.
Dipankar Ghose, the director of the Species and Landscapes Program at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF,) explains that the current number if the Bengal tigers, 106, is dangerously low. He also pointed out that this is due to the escalating crisis in poaching, the degradation of habitats, and fragmentation.
As global greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, a study started in the first part of 2019 model how much of the wide mangrove would remain a suitable habitat. The study states that extreme weather, the increasing salt concentration in water and soil, and the rising sea levels are all contributing factors to the probable demise of the Bengal tiger in 2070.
Sharif Mukul, the study's co-author and assistant professor at the Independent University of Bangladesh, explained that the increased concentration of salt in the water was caused by the rising sea levels and a decline in rainfall that cost the Sundari trees to wilt and die. This has shrunk the mangrove habitat effectively.
The professor further explained that freshwater is crucial for the majestic creatures to survive, which doesn't seem to be an option recently.
The researchers also explained that the spotted deer is greatly diminished because of illegal poaching. This caused the Bengal tiger's main food source to decline.
