Injured Sundarbans tigress to return to wild after recovery

A tigress, critically injured by a poacher's snare in Bangladesh's Sundarbans mangrove forest, is scheduled for release back into the wild on Sunday, July 12, following six months of intensive treatment and rehabilitation.

The animal, currently housed at the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division's center in Khulna, suffered severe injuries to her front left leg. The snare caused deep wounds, damaging skin, muscles, and tendons over a nearly three-inch area as the tigress struggled to free herself. "The tigress, estimated to be 10 to 11 years old, has now made a full recovery. She has regained her agility and speed and is capable of hunting again," said Nirmal Kumar Paul, divisional forest officer in Khulna.

Authorities could not procure a satellite collar for tracking, so they are installing 20 trap cameras along an approximately eight-kilometer stretch of the tigress's expected range. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans East Forest Division, stated that the camera installation began yesterday. The State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Sheikh Faridul Islam, is expected to attend the release ceremony.

This marks the first time in Bangladesh that an injured tiger has been successfully rehabilitated and prepared for release back into the Sundarbans. However, concerns linger among some wildlife experts about whether physical recovery alone guarantees survival in the wild. Wildlife expert Reza Khan, in an article for Prothom Alo, questioned if the tigress, referred to as the 'Princess of the Sundarbans,' was ready for the challenges of the wild after her ordeal.

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The tigress, estimated to be 10 to 11 years old, has now made a full recovery. She has regained her agility and speed and is capable of hunting again.