WFFT helps Bangladesh Sundarban tigers

The WFFT wildlife rescue team was again called from abroad for help

The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand rescue team has been helping with the rescue of 3 wild caught tiger cubs that were rescued form an illegal wildlife trader in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The illegal trader who was caught red-handed Has by now been convicted to 2 years in jail, and told investigators the 3 cubs were taken over one month ago from the Sundarbans mangrove, the largest mangrove forest in the world and the world’s largest natural tiger habitat.

The tigers were found in serious health condition and help was sought from abroad to care for and check on the animals. WFFT who have worked in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia on wildlife rescue issues, have extensive experience with rearing young cats and offered to help out. A team led by WFFT founder Edwin Wiek was flown in to Dhaka on the 16th of june and stayed 4 days helping with the care and medical check-ups on the three tiger cubs. WFFT has donated medical supplies, food and nutrition supplements for the coming months that will help to increase the chance of survival of the cubs.

The cubs will receive proper care and will stay in DHaka for at least 2 motnhs to come as a quarantine procedure, after this period they will probably live at a large newly build safari park, unless a decision for reintroduction is made. The release of tigers back to the wild is until date not been successful anywhere in the world.

We thank the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh forest department and all people that helped with the rescue for allowing us to help out and the given trust, in particular Mr Sirajul Hossain who has been a great go-between with the authorities and wildlife society in Bangladesh. We met Sirajul only 2 months ago at the IPPL bi-annual meeting in Charleston USA, and without this meeting we would not have been able to know him, without his help this rescue wouldn’t not have taken place.

Bangladesh does not yet have a wildlife rescue centre operating yet.

A wild Sundarban Tiger in Bangladesh

The Sundarbans mangrove is the biggest mangrove in the world and stretches along a big part of Bangladesh and India and houses over 400 wild tigers. The tigers are known to be the most agressive and live a difficult life due to a human-tiger conflict, habitat loss and poaching. Besides all this the tigers are knwon to drink salt water, which makes them unique. For the population of wild tigers to survive we will need urgent changes of laws, enforcement and education.

Related storys:
NEWS COM AUSTRALIA News Australia

LOCAL NEWS The Daily Star Bangladesh

AFP AFP News

BBC BBC News

NY DAILY New York Times Daily

WWF Wildlife News International

More pictures on WFFT Facebook page: Bangladesh Tiger Rescue 2012