NitroX
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| (.700 member) |
| 11/03/09 10:25 AM |
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Re: Fatal Tiger Attacks On Rise in South Asian Swamps
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Quote:
Mohammed Rasul Hussain, 45, had left his hut in southwestern Bangladesh at sunrise three weeks ago and, with his younger brother, Sheraz, paddled across the river and into the vast Sundarbans forest.
They moored their boat and set off on foot to search for crab, wild honey and firewood in the world's largest mangrove swamp, which straddles Bangladesh's border with India.
Armed with only a machete, Mohammed did not stand a chance when the tiger leapt from the undergrowth, knocked him to the ground and sank its teeth into his neck. Sheraz could only scream in horror and run.
"He knew the dangers of the forest, but he couldn't do anything else to survive," said Fatima, 30, his widow and the mother of their three children. "It would be better if there were no tigers here."
No doubt it would be better if there were no tigers there for the humans encroachers of the swamps.
But whom is encroaching on whose habitat? The tigers in ever decreasing numbers or the humans increasing venturing into the areas to "search for crabs, wild honey and firewood".
Are these areas Parks ie poaching and illegal harvesting or just un-inhabitable swamps/estuarine country?
I wonder if we went back to Corbett's time, how many people inhabited the same area as today - one in a thousand perhaps?
Sad though for the family and also to loose the father whom fed and provided for them.