A tiger that was caught in a snare set by deer poachers in the Sundarbans has been rescued and is being treated in Khulna. Imran Ahmed, conservator of forests for the forest department's Khulna region, confirmed this on Wednesday (7 January).

He said the injured tiger, rescued from the Chandpai range of the Sundarbans East Forest Division, is being treated at the forest department's wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre in Khulna and its condition is gradually improving. The tiger was extremely weak at first, but after treatment it has started drinking water and eating, and its wild agility is slowly returning.

He said the tiger is under the close supervision of the forest department's veterinary officer, Hatem Sajjad Zulkarnain. Because the tiger was not fully out of danger, a team of specialist doctors from Dhaka led by Professor Dr Hadi Noor Ali Khan of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Bangladesh Agricultural University reached Khulna on Tuesday night (6 January) and made an initial examination. On Wednesday morning the team observed the tiger closely and gave advice on its condition. The tiger's front left leg was injured from being caught in the snare.

Judging from the way it moves, the specialists believe no bones are broken. The doctors said the tiger should be able to recover and return to the forest within a short time. Its wounds are now healing, so people gathering near it would raise the risk of infection.

The trapped tiger was rescued from the Sundarbans on 4 January and brought to Khulna for treatment the same day.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.