Opinion
Save the Tigers

Nehal Adil

The World Tiger Day was observed with great enthusiasm in this land of Royal Bengal Tiger on Thursday, July 29. Bangladesh's identity is synonymous with Royal Bengal Tigers.

East Bengal Regiment, which fought so valiantly in our liberation war, was called the tiger regiment. No , I am not talking about the war fields. Tiger, the world's most ferocious animal, knows how to defend itself. But not now. Tiger is today classified as an endangered species. The last two cyclones, SIDR and Aila, have destroyed their habitat, Sunderbans. Even when the affected humans have not been fully rehabilitated, what could we speak about the tigers?

It is encouraging that the world community has come forward in defence of the tigers.

" How many of us have seen a tiger", young man in his twenties present in the human chain formed at the Public Library asked. "No, tigers do not move in human habitation and you can see them only in the zoos", a girl replied.

Obviously foreign NGOs are funding human rights and animal rights organisations. Many intellectuals see it as infringement of our national sovereignty. World Wild Life Fund is generously active in the arena. I do not think they have any political motivation. But activities of the foreigners in such diverse fields as arsenic or acid throwing disgustingly make us feel that they treat us as half-mature adults. That colonial treatment we have inherited from the past.

In recent times wild elephants have killed fifteen people in Bandarbans and the Royal Bengal Tigers have devoured a few in Sunderbans. When the authorities failed to check the menace, the villagers acted spontaneously. According to the press report, they killed a tiger with rope. Some animal right NGOs and even some foreign mission protested against it. But a government has the right and duty to protect its citizens acceding to its constitutional obligations. During the colonial days the wild animals some times were more valued than the life of the natives. But that does not mean we can indiscriminately devour wild animals.

Apart from Sunderbans, Madhupur High Land was known for its tigers. Some times tigers would descend from the forests to char lands, the river islands; this could create havoc. But that was a story of the past hardly remembered. Now there are no tigers in the central high lands.

Sunderbans, the habitat of the Royal Bengal Island, is a common asset of the humanity. It is spread over both Bangladesh and India. A few years ago a census of the tigers was undertaken by an NGO. The then minister of forestry took part in what could be called a road show. But there has been hardly any co-operation between the governments of India and Bangladesh in protecting the Royal Bengal Tigers. People feel with the new spirit of co-operation between the two countries, joint action to save the tigers may be undertaken. But most important thing would be to restore the cyclone-devastated Sunderbans. New tree planting should be undertaken and care should be taken to safeguard its biodiversity.

Tigers still survive in Nepal and Bhutan where forests have not been much affected by the expansion of urban centres.

But we must not ignore that Bangladesh is an overpopulated country. People run into forest to earn their livelihood and they run into tigers. But we should try to save the Royal Bengal Tiger, because it is a part of our national identity.