Police in Bangladesh has apprehended a notorious poacher who has eluded them for the past 20 years and is suspected of killing around 70 endangered Bengal tigers, as reported by ABC News.
Tiger Habib
Habib Talukder, also known as "Tiger Habib," resided near the forest and would escape anytime cops stormed the region, according to local police head Saidur Rahman.
"We ultimately succeeded and put him to jail after acting on a tip," he added.
The huge Sunderbans mangrove forest region, which straddles India and Bangladesh and is home to one of the world's greatest populations of Bengal tigers, was Talukder's hunting territory.
Black market dealers would buy the cats' pelts, bones, and even flesh and sell them in China and abroad.
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Terrible Reputation
Talukder, 50, began gathering honey from wild bees in the jungle and quickly rose to fame as a local legend for killing large cats while escaping jail.
"We both revere and fear him," Abdus Salam, a local honey hunter, said.
"He's a scary man capable of fighting Mama [tiger] alone inside the forest."
Bengal tigers are the only large cats that can live and hunt in the brackish water of mangrove forests, making them one of a kind among great cats. They can swim really well.
"We had a lot of trouble with him. He represented a serious danger to the biodiversity of the forest, "Mr. Khan explained.
Tigers
According to Poaching Facts, the tiger has a long history in India and many Asian countries, dating back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, growing interest in traditional folk remedies from China and Southeast Asia, sometimes referred to as Traditional Chinese Medicine, has kept tiger hunting profitable in recent decades. Many Asian civilizations have long held the belief that the tiger possesses magical or curative abilities, elevating the animal's value across the board.
There are 13 countries where tigers can still be found in the wild. These "Tiger Nations," also known as Tiger Range Areas or TRCs, take part in global discussions about tiger conservation and commerce, as well as plans to restore tigers to countries where they are functionally extinct.
Market Value
Tiger skins and other components, like rhino horn and elephant ivory, are regarded as a luxury and prestigious products in many cultures, commanding a high price both legitimately in nations like China and illegally on the black market all over the world, as reported by Save Wild Tigers.
Endangered animals such as tigers, elephants, rhinos, and bears are slain for their parts to meet the demand for these goods. Tigers are slaughtered for these items in one of two ways: either they are murdered in the wild by illegal tiger poaching, or they are grown in tiger farms in China and slaughtered in captivity to meet local demand.
Wild tiger items are traditionally thought to be more real and potent and attract a greater premium. As a result, items from captive-bred tigers will never meet the demand for wild-caught tigers, and the illicit tiger trade will continue to be profitable.
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