A species of trees that gave its name to Bangladesh’s Sunderbans, home to the Royal Bengal tiger, is dying off following a cyclone late last year.
The Sundari species, from which the name was derived, are dying of a disease called “top-dying, that has intensified following the cyclone.” The Sunderbans, 400 km southwest of Dhaka, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Cyclone Sidr struck the coast on November 15 with winds of 250 kmph. It killed around 3,500 people, made millions homeless and destroyed a large part of the Sunderbans. At least 60 per cent of the 6,000 sq.km. mangrove swamps that are home to more than 400 Royal Bengal tigers was devastated by the cyclone.
Top-dying was already endemic among Sundari, but the disease has spread and intensified since the cyclone, threatening the existence of the forest, a forest official said. - Reuters
Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, January 19, 2008
The Sundari species, from which the name was derived, are dying of a disease called “top-dying, that has intensified following the cyclone.” The Sunderbans, 400 km southwest of Dhaka, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Cyclone Sidr struck the coast on November 15 with winds of 250 kmph. It killed around 3,500 people, made millions homeless and destroyed a large part of the Sunderbans. At least 60 per cent of the 6,000 sq.km. mangrove swamps that are home to more than 400 Royal Bengal tigers was devastated by the cyclone.
Top-dying was already endemic among Sundari, but the disease has spread and intensified since the cyclone, threatening the existence of the forest, a forest official said. - Reuters
Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, January 19, 2008
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