The Sunderbans

The Sundanbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal. The Sundarbans was originally measured (about 200 years ago) to be of about 16,700 sq km. Now it has dwindled to about 1/3 of the original size. Because of the partition of India, Bangladesh received about 2/3 of the forest; the rest is on the Indian side. It is now estimated to be about 6,023 sq km, of which about 1,700 sq km is occupied by water bodies. The forest is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests, and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes. The area is known for its wide range of fauna. The most famous among these is the, Bengal Tiger but numerous species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes also inhabit it.