Bangladeshi police have arrested an infamous poacher who has been wanted for 20 years on suspicion of killing about 70 endangered Bengal tigers.
Local police chief Saidur Rahman said Habib Talukder, nicknamed “Tiger Habib”, lived near the forest and would flee when police stormed the area.
“Following a tip, we finally succeeded in sending him to prison,” he said.
Talukder was hunted in the Sundarbans mangrove forest area of India և Bangladesh, home to one of the largest populations of Bengal tigers in the world.
Cats’ skins, bones, and meat will be bought by market traders who will sell them in China and elsewhere.
Talukder, 50, began collecting honey from wild bees in the woods, becoming famous for his great cat-hunting and evasion tactics.
“We respect him equally, we are afraid of him,” said Abdus Salam, a local honey hunter. “He is a dangerous man who can fight alone with his mother [tiger] in the forest.”
Bengal tigers are unique to large cats, as they can live in the saltwater of mangrove forests. They are skilled swimmers.
According to the Bangladesh Forest Department, the population of Bengal tigers decreased from 440 in 2004 to 106 in 2015.
Regional Forest Officer Maynuddin Khan says the news of Talukder’s arrest has brought “relief”.
“It was a big headache for us. “It posed a great threat to the biodiversity of the forest,” he said.
