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The Sunderban National Park is home to the
Royal Bengal tiger, and is a part of the
world’s largest delta formed by the Ganga
and Brahmaputra. It is also known for its
unique mangrove forest ecosystem. The reserve
spreads across 2,585 sq km, 0 to 10 m above
sea level. It is a tiger and biosphere reserve
and has been designated as world heritage
site by UNESCO. It extends about 260 km
along the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly
River Estuary (India) to the Meghna River
Estuary in Bangladesh. The forest passes
into a mangrove swamp along the coast. The
southern region, with numerous wild animals
and crocodile-infested estuaries, is virtually
devoid of habitation.
There are a large number of activities that
can be undertaken at the Sunderban National
Park, together with observing the wildlife
such as the chital, crocodile, monkeys,
estuarine and marine turtle, dolphins and
various kinds of birds. For instance, a
cruise through the largest estuarine delta
in the world is a thrilling experience that
might even give you a glimpse of the majestic
tiger. You could also come across rich tribal
folklore, and woodcutters, honey collectors
and fishermen out in the wild working for
their survival.
The word “Sunderban” is derived from sundari
and ban, which, when combined, means “the
forests of sundari”-an obvious reference
to the large mangrove trees. Sunderban has
a variety of forests such as the mangrove
scrub, littoral forest, salt water mixed
forest, brackish water mixed forest, wet
forest, wet alluvial grass forest, etc.
the distribution of wildlife and vegetation
is even throughout the Sunderban area.
The tiger reserve in Sunderban is a major
tourist attraction. The number of tigers
in this reserve is among the highest in
the country. According to a census conducted
in the 1980, the population of tiger here
was close to 400. Besides the tiger, other
forms of wildlife also inhabit these mangrove
forests. The Gangetic dolphin, little porpoise,
fishing cat, Indian fox, jungle cat, small
Indian civet, common grey mongoose, spotted
deer, wild pig, Indian flying fox, rhesus
monkey and pangolin are some of the residents
here.
The bird sanctuary at Sajnekhali contains
a wide variety of birds. The most noteworthy
among them are spotted billed pelican, cotton
teal, herring gull, Caspian tern, grey heron,
large egret, night heron, open-billed stork,
white ibis, common kingfisher, brahmini
kite and paradise flycatcher. The area is
also important for waders, including the
Asian dowitcher (Limnodromus semipalmatus),
a rare winter migrant.
The birds of prey that reside here include
osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Pallas’s fish
eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus), white-bellied
sea eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster), grey-headed
fishing eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus),
peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), Oriental
hobby (Falco severus), northern eagle owl
(Bubo bubo) and brown fish owl (Ketupa zeylonensis).
Besides crocodiles, Sunderban is also home
to sea snakes, dog-faced water snake, Ridley
turtle, curvier, green turtle, hawks bill
turtle, rat snake, king cobra, and python.
The prominent water animals include saw
fish, butterfish, starfish, crabs, prawns
and shrimps.
The Sunderban National Park also has a wide
variety of flora. There is mangrove scrub,
littoral forest, salt water mixed forest,
brackish water mixed forest and swamp forest.
The distribution of wildlife and vegetation
is even throughout the Sunderban area.
Due to its proximity to the Bay of Bengal,
the Sunderbans experience very high humidity.
Rainfall is quite heavy during monsoon,
which last from mid-June to mid-September.
After the monsoons, fair weather prevails
until mid-March. The best season to visit
the Sunderban is between December and February
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