Injured Sundarbans Tigress Recovers and Awaits Release

A ten-to-eleven-year-old Bengal tigress, rescued from a deer poacher’s trap in the Sundarbans earlier this year, has fully recovered after five months of intensive veterinary care. The forest department is preparing to repatriate the animal to her natural habitat, with the final phase of the translocation tentatively scheduled for June 2026.

The incident began on 3 January when the tigress became ensnared in a wire loop trap, locally known as a Mala Phand, set by illegal deer poachers near Sharkir Khal, adjacent to the Mongla upazila of Bagerhat district. Upon receiving intelligence regarding the trapped predator, a specialised rescue unit from the Forest Department arrived at the site on 4 January and successfully extracted the animal.

The tigress was subsequently transferred to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Khulna, operated by the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division. A specialized five-member medical board was constituted immediately to supervise her treatment and therapeutic regime.

Clinical Recovery and Physiological Rehabilitation

Dr Hatem Sazzat Zulkarnain, a veterinary surgeon with the Forest Department who was directly responsible for the clinical care of the feline, described her initial condition upon arrival as critical, severely emaciated, and lethargic.

The constriction of the poacher’s snare around the front left leg had caused a three-inch laceration, severely damaging the skin, muscle tissue, and underlying veins. Due to continuous struggling against the rope trap, the wound had become necrotic.

A rigorous treatment protocol, combining targeted antibiotic therapies with daily wound dressings, successfully contained the infection, allowing the laceration to heal completely by March. The affected tissue has regenerated fully, and new fur has covered the scarred area. Following her rehabilitation, the tigress has successfully regained her physical agility, speed, and standard body mass, currently weighing approximately 80 kilograms.

The statistical data, institutional interventions, and law enforcement metrics surrounding the rescue and the broader anti-poaching operations are detailed in the table below:

Institutional Debate on Release Strategies

The impending release has generated debate among wildlife biologists, researchers, and senior forest administrators regarding the optimal long-term strategy for the animal, given that her age borders on the maximum natural life expectancy of 15 years for the species.

Sanaullah Patwary, Conservator of Forests for the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Region, expressed concern about her survival odds in the wild, noting that her prolonged captivity had reduced her natural hunting efficiency. He suggested placing her in a state safari park instead.

“The tigress has gone a long way without hunting in the wild, which naturally diminishes her predatory efficacy,” Patwary noted. “Given her advanced age, her ability to compete with younger, dominant predators in a hostile feral environment is low. Retaining her within a managed safari park might offer a safer alternative.”

This view was challenged during a stakeholder conference on 21 May, where wildlife experts argued for her right to return to the wild. Dr M.A. Aziz, a prominent wildlife researcher and Professor at the Department of Zoology, Jahangirnagar University, insisted on a natural release.

“Even if the tigress survives in her natural habitat for a single day, it represents a monumental success for conservation,” Dr Aziz stated. “She possesses an intrinsic right to live and die within her ancestral territory. Restricting her to a safari park deprives her of a natural death.”

Dr Aziz added that due to her history of entrapment and advanced age, there is a risk she might wander into human settlements. To mitigate this risk, he advised fitting the animal with a satellite tracking collar, pointing out that the Indian Forest Service has successfully deployed satellite collars on six tigers in their portion of the Sundarbans.

Final Translocation Planning and Anti-Poaching Operations

Imran Ahmed, Conservator of Forests for the Khulna Region, stated that camera-trapping data from 2024 had captured the tigress three times across a 40-kilometre territory. The department intends to release her at the furthest possible point from human settlements within that specific zone. Ahmed noted that final meetings will be held to resolve the tracking strategies, with a conclusive decision expected by June.

The Forest Department reported that poachers primarily deploy four types of traps: loop traps (Mala Phand), spring traps (Chitka Phand), foot traps (Hata Phand), and neck snares (Gala Phand). Large-scale anti-poaching operations carried out over recent months have resulted in extensive seizures of this illegal equipment and numerous arrests across both the Eastern and Western jurisdictions of the mangrove forest.