Bangladesh is home to approximately 53 species of amphibian, 19 type of marine reptiles, 139 type of reptile, 380 type of birds, 116 type of mammals and 5 type of marine mammals. In count to the large bird count, a further 310 kind of migratory birds swell bird statistics each year. It has the Bengal tiger, Hoolock gibbon, Asian elephant, Asian black bear and other flagship species. The huge majority of these creatures currently stay in an area of land that is some 150 000 sq kilometers in size. However this does not signify all is well with the country’s natural heritage. So far a number of creature have departed completely from the country and a further 201 variety are endangered. The dhole, also called the Asiatic wild dog, is now dying out by habitat and prey-species loss and human harassment. Remarkable animal species that have disappeared from Bangladesh are the one-horned Rhinoceros, the two-horned Rhinoceros, the Banteng, the Gaur, Swamp deer, Indian Wolf,  Nilgai, wild Water Buffalo, common Peafowl and marsh crocodile. The majority of the human being population lives in or roughly large cities and this has helped to limit deforestation to some extent. However, the growth rate continues to amplify and this has placed large demands on the atmosphere and lead to succeeding clearing of frequent natural habitats. Though some of the areas are protected under law, a large section of Bangladeshi wildlife is in danger by this growth.

  

Wildlife Protection Act-2012

Bangladesh Parliament has passed the Wildlife (Protection) Act-2012, mandating 12 years of custody for killing an elephant or a tiger.

 “Wildlife is vital in keeping the environment in equilibrium. For lack of right defense, many species have become extinct and many others are on the verge of extermination,” Environment parliamentarians  Hasan Mahmud said explaining the purpose of the bill.

“Rhinoceros, wild buffalo, swamp deer, Nilgai, wild goat and many other species have already become destroyed. We have identified eight species of amphibians, 58 type of reptiles, 41 species of birds and 40 species of mammals as endangered in accordance with the IUCN Red Data Book (2000),” Hasan said.

“Anyone purchasing wild animals, part of wild animals, trophies, meat or other products without license will be sentenced to three years of jail and Tk 200,000 fine or equally.”

Anybody killing a tiger or an elephant would face two to seven years of jail and Tk 100,000 to Tk 1 million fine or equally. Say again offenders would be jailed for 12 years and fine Tk 1.5 million, specify the act.

Anybody killing cheetahs, clouded cheetahs, gibbons, sambar deer, crocodiles, gavials, whales or dolphins would be sentenced to five years of jail and Tk 200,000 fine.

Killing wild birds or migratory birds will consequence in two years of jail and Tk 200,000 fine.

Under the act, any state-owned forest land, land or water-body can be twisted into an eco-park, safari park, botanical garden or propagation grounds. Such land can also be declared reserve land by gazettes. Farming, woodcutting, burning and structure will be prohibited on forest reserves and violators can be jailed for up to two years.

The act identifies 32 type of amphibian, 154 species of reptile, 113 species of mammal, 52 species of fish, 32 species of coral, 137 species of mollusk, 22 species of crustacean, 24 species of insect, six species of rodent, 41 species of plant and 13 species of orchid.