"It’s one of the few places on Earth where tigers stalk & attack humans, & the only jungle where the leading cause of human death is an apex predator"

The extensive mangrove forest on the Bay of Bengal between India and Bangladesh is the largest continuous mangrove in the world and famous for its population of Royal Bengal tigers. 

The delta ecosystem of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands is formed by the meeting of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers as they exit to the sea. The mangroves form an effective buffer zone to protect from the sometimes devastating cyclones that hit the area in the rainy season.

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The National Park is home to a number of critically endangered animals. Ganges and Irawadi dolphins inhabit its rivers as well as a very rare, endemic river terrapin, and it is also important habitat for the Indian python.

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Aside from the tigers, a number of other small-to-medium sized wild cats thrive in the forest: jungle cats, fishing cats and leopard cats are elusive but relatively common there. Other mammals that inhabit the area are chital deer, spotted deer, Indian muntjacs, rhesus macaques and wild boar.

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However, it’s also one of the few places on earth where tigers regularly stalk and attack humans, killing an estimated average 22 souls a year. That makes this the one jungle where the leading cause of human deaths is an apex predator, rather than what might be considered more obvious - a snake bite or being infected by a tropical disease.

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And tigers are not the only hazard with teeth among the twisted branches and roots of the mangroves. Sundarbans also boasts the massive and highly dangerous saltwater crocodile, so it’s advisable to stay well away from riverbanks and avoid trailing your hands in the water over the side of a boat!

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