Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Ecosystem

Sundarbans

Wetland and Freshwater

The largest contiguous mangrove forest on Earth, spread across the delta where the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers meet the Bay of Bengal, shared between Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. Named for the sundari trees that dominate its tangled, salt tolerant forest, the Sundarbans is the only mangrove ecosystem known to support a significant population of tigers, which here swim between islands and are known to enter the water in pursuit of prey. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the forest also buffers a densely populated coastline against cyclones and storm surge, a service made more urgent as sea levels rise.

Facts
Classification
Biogeographic Realm
Indomalayan 1
Protected Status
Managed or Multiple-Use Protection 1
Area (sq km)
10,000 1
Connections

Demonstrates

Decomposition, Natural Phenomena
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Tides, Natural Phenomena

The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem is structured directly by its tidal regime: its channels flood and drain twice daily, and its mangrove trees carry root and reproductive adaptations specifically suited to regular tidal inundation.

Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Hosts

Asian Small-clawed Otter, Species
Source Wikidata: Tiger
Additional Source Sundarbans (Wikipedia)Article text
Bengal Tiger, Species
Source World Wildlife Fund
Fishing Cat, Species
Source Wikidata: Tiger
Additional Source Sundarbans (Wikipedia)Article text
Irrawaddy dolphin, Species
Source Irrawaddy dolphin (Wikipedia)
King Cobra, Species
Source Wikipedia: King cobra
Mudskipper, Species
Source Wikipedia: Mudskipper
Mugger crocodile, Species
Source Mugger crocodile (Wikipedia)
Saltwater Crocodile, Species
Source World Wildlife Fund
Smooth-coated Otter, Species
Source Wikidata: Tiger
Additional Source Sundarbans (Wikipedia)Article text
Tiger, Species
Source Wikidata: Tiger
Additional Source Sundarbans (Wikipedia)Article text

In Biome

Wetlands, Biomes

The Sundarbans is the world's largest mangrove forest, a wetland ecosystem by NOAA's own hydrology-based definition; this edge had no in-biome link at all before this pass.

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Bangladesh

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

India

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • britannica.com/place/Sundarbans, opening definition sentence
    Sundarbans, vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga])-Brahmaputra River delta in southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, and southern Bangladesh.
  • Biogeographic realm: indomalayan (derived from location stated in entity description)
  • Protected status (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
    A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the forest also buffers a densely populated coastline against cyclones and storm surge, a service made more urgent as sea levels rise.
  • Demonstrates: Decomposition
  • In Biome: Wetlands
View the Source
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDemonstrates: TidesView the Source
World Wildlife Fund
World Wildlife Fund
  • Hosts: Bengal Tiger
  • Hosts: Saltwater Crocodile
View the Source
Wikipedia: King cobra
Hosts: King Cobra, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: King Cobra, Distribution and habitat
In the Eastern Ghats, it occurs from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to coastal Odisha, and also in Bihar and southern West Bengal, especially the Sundarbans.
View the Source
Mugger crocodile (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Mugger crocodile, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Mugger crocodile, Distribution and habitat
In Bangladesh, it was historically present in the northern parts of the Sundarbans, where four to five captive individuals survived in an artificial pond by the 1980s.
View the Source
Irrawaddy dolphin (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Irrawaddy dolphin, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Irrawaddy dolphin, Distribution and habitat
Bangladesh: ~3,500 in coastal waters of the Bay of Bengal and 451 (VU) in the brackish Sundarbans mangrove forest India: 156 in the brackish-water Chilika Lake, Odisha, as of 2021.
View the Source
Sundarbans (Wikipedia)
  • Hosts: Tiger, Article text
    The area is known for the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, chital, crocodiles and snakes.
  • Hosts: Smooth-coated Otter, Article text
    There are other threatened mammal species, such as the capped langur (Semnopithecus pileatus), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea) and large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha).
  • Hosts: Asian Small-clawed Otter, Article text
    There are other threatened mammal species, such as the capped langur (Semnopithecus pileatus), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinerea) and large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha).
  • Hosts: Fishing Cat, Article text
    The forest also provides habitat for small wild cats such as the jungle cat (Felis chaus), fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), and leopard cat (P.
View the Source
Wikipedia: Mudskipper
WikipediaHosts: Mudskipper, Distribution and habitat
Quote, Hosts: Mudskipper, Distribution and habitat
It can be found in mangrove ecosystems and mudflats of East Africa and Madagascar east through the Sundarbans of Bengal
View the Source

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.