Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, a protected forest in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

, extends over an area of 31,227 ha. of

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fre ...

. It was established in 1977 under the ''Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974'', having previously been a forest reserve. It is the most fertile of the three, non-adjoining wildlife sanctuaries established in the

Sundarbans Sundarbans (pronounced ) is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans the area from the Baleswar River in Bangladesh's division of Khulna to the Hooghly R ...

at that time, the others being the

Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and animal sanctuary in Bangladesh. The area of the reserve covers 715 km2. It is part of the larger Sundarbans region, one of the largest mangroveforests in the world. It is ...

and the Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary. The dominant mangrove species is "sundri" ('' Heritiera fomes'') from which the Sundarbans region gets its name.

Geography

The Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary is in a low-lying area of flat islands interspersed by a network of waterways. It is situated between the Katka and Supati Kals creeks in the Ganges Delta and is bounded to the south by the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

. The Baleshwari River supplies some freshwater but otherwise the waters are saline, being constantly replenished by the rise and fall of the tide. Sands collect near the mouth of the creeks and is blown into dunes and in their lee, silt accumulates. The altitude of the sanctuary varies between above sea level. The soil is more fertile than that of Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary and Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary because a larger quantity of sediment is deposited here by the River Ganges. As the land is raised by accumulating silt, it gets inundated by the tide less often. The

soil pH Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the ne ...

is mostly between 7.0 and 8.0. Up to of rainfall falls at the coast with most precipitation being during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

, which lasts from June to October. The driest months are December, January and February. In the winter the temperature may fall as low as but rises to a maximum of about in April and May. The mean annual temperature is about . The average

relative humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

is high, ranging between 77 and 80%, and peaking during the monsoon at 95%. There are four main types of habitat in the sanctuary; mangrove woodlands, grasslands, sandy beaches and areas of transition.

Flora

Mangroves in this delta region are not dominated by members of the Rhizophoraceae family, probably because of the low

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

caused by the inflow of river water. The commonest species are "sundri" ('' Heritiera fomes''), interspersed with "gewa" ('' Excoecaria agallocha'') and "passur" ('' Xylocarpus mekongensis''), with "kankra" ('' Bruguiera gymnorhiza'') occurring in areas subject to more frequent flooding. There is an understory of "shingra" ('' Cynometra ramiflora'') where, soils are drier, "amur" ('' Aglaia cucullata'') in wetter areas and ''goran'' ('' Ceriops decandra'') where the salinity is higher. Nypa palm (''

Nypa fruticans ''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adap ...

'') is widespread along drainage channels. The most abundant plants on the forest floor were the mangrove date palm (''Phoenix paludosa''), holly-leaved acanthus (''Acanthus ilicifolius''), '' Sarcolobus globosus'' and ''

Derris trifoliata ''Derris trifoliata'' is a plant species in the genus ''Derris'', Family - Leguminosae It is known as "Karanjvel" in Marathi - local language of Maharashtra, India. It is a large climber found commonly in coastal swamps of Konkan (India). It is ...

''.

Fauna

There are more than forty species of mammal present in this and the adjoining

and Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary. The

rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally ...

(''Macaca mulatta'') is plentiful and is the only

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

in the area.

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present i ...

s are also present; they have a reputation as being man-eaters, but their chief

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

is the

spotted deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Po ...

(''Axis axis'') and the

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

(''Sus scrofa''). There are three species of wild cat, the

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

(''Prionailurus bengalensis''), the

fishing cat The fishing cat (''Prionailurus viverrinus'') is a medium-sized wild cat of South and Southeast Asia. Since 2016, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Fishing cat populations are threatened by destruction of wetlands and have declin ...

(''Prionailurus viverrinus'') and the

jungle cat The jungle cat (''Felis chaus''), also called reed cat, swamp cat and jungle lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East, the Caucasus, South and Southeast Asia and southern China. It inhabits foremost wetlands like swamps, littoral ...

(''Felis chaus''). Also present are three species of

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes we ...

, one of which, the smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata''), has been domesticated by local fishermen. The South Asian river dolphin (''Platanista gangetica'') inhabits some of the larger water channels. Birds are plentiful with over 270 having been recorded in the area including 38 species of

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

, 95 species of

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...

and 9 of

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. On the coast there are gulls and terns, on the mudbanks waders are plentiful and various forest birds are found among the trees. Some of the birds recorded such as the

masked finfoot The masked finfoot or Asian finfoot (''Heliopais personatus'') is a highly endangered aquatic bird that was formerly distributed throughout the fresh and brackish wetlands of the eastern Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia. Lik ...

(''Heliopais personatus'') and the white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') are threatened globally. The greater spotted eagle (''Clanga clanga'') overwinters here but the

lesser adjutant The lesser adjutant (''Leptoptilos javanicus'') is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Like other members of its genus, it has a bare neck and head. It is however more closely associated with wetland habitats where it is solitary ...

(''Leptoptilos javanicus'') is a resident but uncommon species as is the mangrove pitta (''Pitta megarhyncha'') and the black-headed ibis (''Threskiornis melanocephalus''). The streak-breasted woodpecker (''Picus viridanus'') is at the western end of its range here. Other notable birds include the great stone-curlew (''Esacus recurvirostris'') and the

buffy fish owl The buffy fish owl (''Ketupa ketupu''), also known as the Malay fish owl, is a fish owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to Southeast Asia and lives foremost in tropical forests and wetlands. Due to its wide distribution and assumed stable p ...

(''Bubo ketupu''). 45 species of reptile have been recorded, but the

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshe ...

(''Crocodylus palustris''), has been overhunted and is no longer present, and the

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been l ...

(''Crocodylus porosus'') is much reduced in numbers. There are 11 species of

amphibian Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

and more than 120 species of fish.

Crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapoda, decapods, ostracoda, seed shrimp, branchiopoda, branchiopods, argulidae, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopoda, isopods, barnacles, copepods, ...

s are abundant, especially

fiddler crab The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, whil ...

s and mud crabs, as well as

lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are ref ...

s and

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...

Management

The reserve is managed from administrative offices at Katka and Tiger Point. Certain activities are prohibited in the reserve; settlement, the cultivation of land, keeping livestock, damaging the vegetation, hunting and lighting fires. Management is directed at conservation of the tigers and other wildlife as a part of forest management. In the long-term, as sediment is deposited, the main channels in the Ganges Delta are migrating eastwards. As other channels silt up, the reserve is becoming more saline and a gradual replacement of ''Heritiera fomes'' by ''Excoecaria agallocha'' may occur. Oil spills, such as happened in December 2014, are a threat to the aquatic life and the forest itself.

Tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

s and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

s can cause great damage to this low-lying area, and wood-cutting and unauthorised hunting and fishing take place. The landfall of Cyclone Sidr in 2007 damaged around 40% of the area.

References

{{Protected Forests of Bangladesh Sundarbans Wildlife sanctuaries of Bangladesh Forests of Bangladesh Khulna Division 1977 establishments in Bangladesh Protected areas established in 1977

Geography

Flora

Fauna

Management

See also

References