Three tiger cubs rescued from smugglers

On Monday three two month old tiger cubs were rescued from smugglers bound for Malaysia by the Rapid Action Battalion security forces in Bangladesh.

The smugglers were stopped and arrested and then tried on the spot by a mobile court. They were then each sentenced to two years in jail for wildlife smuggling.

It is thought that the cubs were taken two to three days prior to the arrest from an area within the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest which covers the border of India and Bangladesh. This area is one of the biggest remaining habitats where the wild Bengal tiger exists.

A recent update has stated that the cubs have become increasingly frail after being disturbed by hundreds of visitors to the private zoo in Dhaka where they are now based. The zoo are struggling to cope with the care needed for such young cubs and are feeding them powdered milk and finely chopped chicken meat but have admitted to being unsure on what to feed them. The zoo has now restricted entry in protection of the cubs that they are fighting to keep alive.

Bangladeshi authorities are investigating how the cubs were stolen from the Sundarbans and are also looking into an allegation from one of the smugglers that the government’s chief wildlife conservationist Tapan Kumar Dey placed the order for the tiger cubs. The allegation has been strongly denied.

TigerTime believe that these tiger cubs would have ended up in the black market to be sold as pets. This trade along with the illegal trade in tiger products is devastating the number of wild tigers.

Help TigerTime put an end to this illegal wildlife trade – Please sign www.bantigertrade.com and donate here to help us protect wild tigers through anti-poaching patrols and undercover investigations.

Written by: Chantelle M Henderson

Sources: AFP and New York Daily News