Six Bengal tiger poachers killed by Bangladesh police

                              A Bengal tiger    (C)Vijay Phulwadhawa/CC/Wikimedia Commons

Bangladeshi police have confirmed the death of six alleged Bengal tiger poachers in a gunfight in the largest stretch of mangrove forest, home to the rare Bengal tiger. According to Harendra Nath Sarkar, a local police official, the gunfight lasted about 20 minutes and in his interview with BBC, he said: “We recovered three tiger skins, and five guns and ammunition. From the look and smell of the skins, it seemed that the tigers were killed not more than a week ago”.
Last month the government’s wildlife conservationist estimated that current tiger populations in the Sundarbans were between 80 and 130, a huge decline from figures released in 2004 which projected that there were some 440 tigers in the Mangrove habitat.
Tiger bones, meat and skin are being sold for a lot of money and according to sources, the  feeble law enforcement and a lack of monitoring inside the forest had contributed to the rise in poaching.