A notorious poacher suspected of having killed up to 70 rare Bengal tigers in India and Bangladesh for the last 20 years has been arrested.
According to AljazeeraNews, Habib Talukder, 50, is suspected of killing three tigers and five deer, however Talukder has bragged about killing as many as 70 Bengal tigers since he poached his first tiger more than 25 years ago.
Talukder would hunt in the Sundarban, a huge mangrove forest and home to the world’s largest population of Bengal tigers. He began killing the animals and sold them for their pelts, bones and flesh on the black markets.
How was it that Talukder was never apprehended? According to nearby villagers, Talukder lived near the forest and whenever anyone tried to pursue him, he would disappear deep into the woods amid the thick mangroves.
“He was a big headache for us. He posed a great threat to the forest’s biodiversity,” regional forest conservation officer, Mainuddin Khan stated.
It is estimated there are fewer than 3,900 Bengal tigers left in the world. The orange, white and black cats usually have a bright reddish-orange coat with a white belly. Adults can grow to 10-feet and weigh as much as 440 pounds. Their lifespans in the wild range from 10 to 15 years in the wild.
As for white tigers, the only survey available counts them to be less than 200 alive in the world. Many of the big cats have died due to diseases including feline panleukopenia and tuberculosis.
Others have perished from lack of food, environmental impacts, illegal trade and encounters with hunters.
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