Infamous tiger hunter and poacher, Habib Talukdar, has finally been captured by Bangladeshi police after an exhausting 20-year man hunt. Talukdar, who is otherwise called “Tiger Habib” is famous for stalking, hunting, and killing what are now considered extinct tigers belonging to the Bengal species. He’s also famous for having eluded the authorities for at least two decades. He was given his name precisely due to his hunting expertise, having killed around 70 rare tigers throughout his lengthy career as an illegal poacher.
This world famous hunter has been on the loose in the Sundarbans mangrove forests, which are found alongside the India-Bangladesh border. Aside from that, he has also been on the top of the “Most Wanted” lists of both the police and forestry officers for a number of years.
Whether he was getting tipped off by others or if it was just plain luck, the 50-year old poacher has always been able to get away from the authorities every time they made it close to his location, until now.
Local honey hunter Abdus Salam shared, “We equally respect him and are scared of him. He’s a dangerous man who could fight alone with [tigers] inside the forest.”
Sharankhola police, acting on a tip-off, arrested Habib Talukder, 50, in the early hours of Saturday from Madhya Sonatola village, adjacent to the forest, under Southkhali union.https://t.co/wVc59Du48u
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Finally, on May 29, “Tiger Habib” was caught in the Sonatala village of Bagerhat’s Sarankhola upazila – which is found near the forest – in his neighbor’s house, after the authorities were tipped off to his whereabouts.
Officer-in-charge Md Saidur Rahman of the Sharankhola Police Station explained, “He came back to his village on May 28. A day later, he was nabbed from the house of his neighbor Rafiqul.”
According to the Dhaka Tribune, Sharankhola Station Officer Md Abdul Mannan shared, “He secretly entered the Sundarbans and hunted wild animals despite being banned from entering forest long ago.”
He adds, “He has been carrying out these criminal activities even though there are multiple cases against him. Some powerful gangs are involved in this… He was on the run for a long time.”
A report from BBC news explained that Bengal tigers are strongly desired by most black market traders. This is due to their tiger pelts, bones, and flesh that are trafficked all across the globe for a number of different uses.
Bengal tigers are considered to be incredibly unique amongst the otherwise well-known big cats of the animal kingdom, mostly for their strength, their swimming skills, and the fact they can hunt in the salt waters of the mangrove forests. But despite their many survival skills, a Bangladesh Forest Department did a study back in 2019 that sadly reported the number of Bengal tigers in the UNESCO Heritage Site, The Sundarbans, had dropped to just 114 when in 2004 there were at least 440 from their last count due to illegal hunting.
Since Talukdar’s arrest, Officer Mainuddin Khan of the Regional Forest Conservation has shared his sense of relief with the AFP, saying “That was a big headache for us. He posed a huge threat to the biodiversity of the forest.”
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