Environmentalists worry in Sunderbans(National Park) :After Aila Hit

Environmentalists are worried of the devastation caused by Cyclone Aila to wildlife, particularly tigers, in the Sunderbans, which stretches over a vast area in South and North 24 Parganas districts.The Sunderbans are a part of the world's largest delta formed by the mighty rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna. Situated on the lower end of the Gangetic West Bengal, it is also the world’s largest estuarine forest.

"Some animals might have lost their lives in the cyclone. But we don't know how many were killed," West Bengal Forest minister Ananta Roy said.

"We have ordered a survey to be completed by June 15 to determine the number of animals which may have been killed," he said.

Top forest department officials, however, claimed that the storm did not cause much damage to the forest.

"Wildlife, including tigers, were not much affected as the mangrove withstood the ferocity of the cyclone, though carcasses of two deers were recovered," Field Director of Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (STR), Subrata Mukherjee told PTI.

He said that forest department teams which visited the forest after the cyclone did not come across much damage.

Director of Sunderbans Biosphere reserve N C Bahuguna confirmed the death of five deers, but said other wildlife was safe.

Asked whether there was a possibility of some wildlife being washed away following inundation after the cyclone, Mr. Bahuguna said, "The forest is intact. Every year most areas in Sunderbans experience inundation and wild animals are accustomed to such conditions."

A tiger, he said, had strayed at Jamespur immediately after the storm, but forest department personnel had sent it back to the forest.

Mr. Bahuguna said the wild animals must have taken shelter on higher reaches in the forest during the storm.

NGOs and environmentalists working in the Sunderbans, however, apprehended otherwise.

The Sunderbans forest is home to more than 250 tigers. The Bengal Tigers have adapted themselves very well to the saline and aqua environs and are extremely good swimmers. As you enter the adventurous wild land of the Sunderbans you'll be thrilled to see the chital deer and rhesus monkey.

The aqua fauna of Sunderbans include a variety of fishes, red fiddler crabs and hermit crabs.There are crocodiles, which can be often seen along the mud banks.

These are in past onlu, after aila the situation is changed.

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