and Animal Life of Bangladesh
With the exception of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
District, portions of the Madhupur Tract, and the
Sundarbans (a great tidal mangrove swamp in the
southwestern corner of the country), few extensive
forests remain in Bangladesh, the forested and wooded
area amounting to about one-eighth of the total
area. Broadleaf evergreen species characterize the
hilly regions, and deciduous trees, such as acacia
and banyan, are common in the drier plains areas.
Commercially valuable trees in Bangladesh include
sundari (hence the name Sundarbans), gewa, sal (mainly
growing in the Madhupur Tract), and garyan (in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts District). Village groves
abound in fruit trees (mango and jackfruit, for
instance) and date and areca (betel) palms. The
country also has many varieties of bamboo.
Bangladesh is rich in fauna, including 109 indigenous
species of mammals, 684 types of birds, 119 kinds
of reptiles, 19 different amphibians, and 200 varieties
of marine and freshwater fish. The rhesus monkey
is common, and gibbons and lemurs are also found.
The Sundarbans area is one of the principal remaining
domains of the Bengal tiger, and herds of elephants
and many leopards inhabit the Chittagong Hill Tracts
District. Other animals living in Bangladesh include
mongoose, jackal, Bengal fox, wild boar, parakeet,
kingfisher, vulture, and swamp crocodile.