Sunderbans tiger count increases to 96 from 88: Official

The number of tigers in the Sunderbans reserve forest in West Bengal has increased to 96 from the previous estimate of 88, an official said on Wednesday. The state forest department arrived at the current figure on the basis of a census conducted between November 2019 and January 2020, he said. At present, the number of big cats is 96 in Sunderbans, Chief Wildlife Warden Ravi Kant Sinha told PTI.

The previous number of Royal Bengal Tigers in Sunderbans, released in 2019, was 88, he said. "The tiger census can never be exact. It shows the trend. But it is heartening that the tiger population in the Sunderbans is increasing," he said. The latest census was done by camera trapping technique, he added.