News from the field 24 (Jan 22nd-29th, 2007)

Finding tiger tracks has become a bit of an addiction for us these days. The thrills of standing in a very slow moving boat and staring at a muddy river bank all day might not seem immediately obvious, but everyone in the team is still keen. The fun comes from covering new territory each day; different khals, different trees, different birds and different tiger tracks. With three teams, the data is mounting up fast and we have completed a large portion of the Sundarbans East section.






































We have found that there is quite a lot of variability in the number of tiger tracks in each of the sample units (sample unit = an area large enough to contain at least 2 tiger's territories). For every 10 km of surveyed river, some sample units give us 10-15 tracks but others only 1-2. Finding out why tigers are abundant in some places and less so in others will help create more effective management plans. More importantly, the khal surveys are a cheap but effective way of detecting changes in the tiger population. If carried out each year, not only will the surveys be able to show overall trends, but they will also identify sample units where added protection is required.

A survey day starts with coffee at 5:30 a.m. Naser has already loaded the boats with fuel, Alam has put data sheets, GPS, maps and binoculars for each team, and Mizan makes sure there are enough emergency supplies on each boat just in case it gets stuck or the engine breaks down. It is cold in the morning and it always seems like an age before the sun burns off the heavy mist. Each team unties and heads out to its designated set of khals, which it must get to just as the tide is dropping, so that they have the maximum amount of time to survey until the water comes in again and covers the muddy banks to hide the tracks.

At the start of a khal, a GPS location and time is noted down and the boat is slowed down to its lowest possible speed. The observers stand on the boat roof and scan left and right banks for the tell tale marks of tiger tracks. If we see something that could be a tiger track we drive the boat into the river bank and walk through the thick mud to investigate. Probably less than half of these checks produce a confirmed tiger track but they are worth doing to minimize the number we miss.



There is no phone coverage in most of the places we go so we have to make plans A, B and C for each day; where to survey, where to meet, what to do if something goes wrong. So far we have been lucky, but it is always a close call when you are far up a narrow khal when to turn round before its too late. Naser and Kalam?s team did get stuck in a khal and had to wait 3 extra hours for the water to come in before they could float out. No big problem, but they just happened to be on the boat with the lunch which the rest of us had to wait for until 6 that night for our first meal of the day. Food is rice, Subzi (vegetables) and Dal (lentils). If we are feeling rich we buy a big Betki (river Perch) from the fisherman or some crabs.

On the morning of the 24th we had all just set off when a speed boat packed full of armed coast guard zoomed past. I knew the speed boat driver, Babul, and when he saw me he turned around and came along side. When he heard I was heading to Tambulbunia he told me not to go because there was a big fight was on between dacoits (local pirates) and the authorities. After a quick look at the maps we worked out new routes that avoided that area. It was lucky we did. Later reports came in of 5 dacoits dead and 15 government people injured.

Meanwhile, Mizan was going through a dry patch in terms of tiger tracks. One day he got one, another day zero and a third he only got two. He is good at spotting tiger tracks but he was covering areas of presumably low tiger abundance. On the 26th there was a much longer route than normal that was going to take someone 12 hours to do. I asked if there was any heroes wanting to take up the challenge and of course Mizan spoke up. Leaving at 5 a.m. he arrived back at 7 in the evening with a big smile on his face. ?How many tracks did you get ?? I shouted to him over the engine noise as his boat approached?. ?I got 68!?



Adam Barlow
Khulna