Cams reveal stable Sundarbans big cat count, click small cats in action
Times of India | 25 March 2025
The Bengal forest dept clicked a wide range of photographs — from adult tigers & fishing cats with kills KOLKATA: Camera traps - installed in the Indian Sundarbans between last Nov and this Jan during the routine annual exercise to monitor tiger population on the delta - have revealed presence of a pair of adult tigers, photographed last year as sub-adults, and a pair of cubs from the same location on an island.
In tiger's lair
This, foresters said, signifies that the habitat remains sufficiently healthy to sustain more tigers.
They indicated that this demonstrated young tigers were being "recruited" into the population and their survival rate remains favourable on the delta.
Sunderbans cat on cam
As per the latest all-India tiger enumeration report in 2023, Indian Sundarbans houses 101 big cats. An earlier report had indicated that Indian Sundarbans could sustain 4.7 tigers per 100 sq km, based on prey density. The 2023 all-India estimation report had established that the tiger density here was almost 4.3, closer to the carrying capacity.
The recent assessment by the forest dept was conducted simultaneously across the tiger reserve and divisional forest areas, producing over 2.5 lakh photographs only from the tiger reserve zone.
Some rare photographs of fishing cats with prey have been captured, which the forest department has shared with TOI.
Sunderbans fishing cat
Rajendra Jakhar, field director of the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, said two tigers photographed during the last assessment in 2023-24 as cubs aged around a year have been photographed again during the 2024-25 assessment almost at the identical location.
"This indicates that the survival rate of cubs and sub-adults is favourable. Moreover, two cubs have been photographed this time in the same location, suggesting that the adults have separated from their mother. These two tigers, not counted during the last assessment as they were under a year, will be counted this time. This demonstrates that young tigers are being incorporated into the population," Jakhar added.
Sunderbans cubs
"Photographs from the South 24 Parganas division are pending," he added. During the assessment, over 1,200 trap cameras were positioned simultaneously across the entire 4,000 sq km landscape in the Indian Sundarbans, dividing the area into 2 sq km grids.
According to Y V Jhala, former dean with Wildlife Institute of India, the tigers' future, regarding numbers, depends on prey population, which suffers most when natural calamities like storms and cyclones impact the landscape.
Cameras placed by the Bengal forest dept clicked a wide range of photographs from adult tigers
"If these natural disasters strike the Sundarbans less frequently, the prey population will build up and tiger numbers will rise accordingly. Alongside tigers, emphasis should be also given on estimating prey population," he added.
The study also revealed rare photos of fishing cats in action. They were captured with prey such as fish and snake.