Bangladesh: They arrested a tiger hunter who was …

Bangladeshi police arrested poacher over weekend accused of killing some 70 Bengal tigers, an endangered species. Habib Talukder, nicknamed “Bagh Shikari” (tiger hunter), He had been a fugitive for 20 years, taking refuge in the forest.

“We tried to corner him for a long time. A complaint finally allowed us to succeed and send him to jail,” said local police chief Saidur Rahman, who admitted that the 50-year-old hunter he was “difficult” to catch because he lived in the woods, which he entered whenever the police raided.

Bagh Shikari had chosen as a hunting area the Sunderban mangroves, which spans over 10,000 square kilometers and is home to one of the largest populations of Bengal tigers in the world, including skin, bones and even meat are sold at a high price on the black market.

According to local media, before devoting himself to tiger hunting, he worked collecting honey in the forest. “We respect him as much as we fear him,” said Abdus Salam, a honey beekeeper, upon hearing the news. “He is a dangerous man capable of fighting alone with mum (the tiger) in the forest”he added.

For his part, the regional forest conservator, Mainuddin Khan, called the arrest of the hunter a “relief”.

“It was giving us serious headaches. It was a big threat to the biodiversity of the forest.”Khan noted.

Bangladesh forestry department has grown from 440 tigers from Bengal in 2004 to just 106 in 2015. In 2019, the population rebounded slightly, climbing to 114, thanks to heavy persecution against poaching.