*5.1.7 Tourist pressure*

*Forest Degradation Around the World*

huge challenge [32].

*5.1.3 Local consumption*

*5.1.4 Use of live animals*

*5.1.5 Human-wildlife conflict*

*5.1.6 Moving vehicle as a growing threat*

turtles and tortoises, snakes, and frogs [32].

conveniently located between India and Myanmar, Bangladesh is being used as a source of animals as well as the transit route of international wildlife trade. Wildlife species are killed for their meat, skins, bones, fur, and other body parts which are used for traditional medicine, clothing, jewelry, and trophy and also for unconventional exotic food. These animal products have demands mostly in the international illegal market, and their destination is the traditional Chinese medicine market [32]. While wildlife poaching and trafficking pose a great threat to the flagship species of the country but the status of the lesser known species (e.g., golden jackal, civets, mongoose, and small cats), the latest situation is currently unknown. These animals play a vital role in the ecosystem, and if this process continues, the conservation of mammalian species of the country would be a

There are at least 29 ethnic communities in Bangladesh, and most of them find their protein source from wild animals. These ethnic communities are spread over the country, but most of them inhabit in the southeastern and northeastern part of Bangladesh. Ethnic communities usually hunt wild animals such as wild boar, barking deer, Indian hare, small cats, primates, mongoose, civets, squirrels, rats, bats,

Some of the wildlife species have growing demand as pet or zoo animals in both local and international markets. Wildlife traders illegally collect the harvested animals from the poachers. Keeping wild animals in private collection or establishment of mini zoo is not legal in Bangladesh according to the existing laws, but many private collections are established in several parts of the country. Most commonly found animals of these private collections include but not limited to hoolock gibbon, rhesus macaque, pig-tailed macaque, Assamese macaque, slow loris, spotted deer, barking deer,

marbled cat, fishing cat, civet, large birds, pythons, cobras, turtles, and tortoises. This is a total violation of the Bangladesh Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012, as most of these animals are protected by the current laws of the country [4, 32].

Human-wildlife conflict is currently a burning issue as it influences a group of people against wild animals and also against the people who want to conserve and restore wildlife [33]. The growing human population of Bangladesh is forcing rapid urbanization and habitat loss for the wildlife and also forcing wild animals to live in close proximity to humans. Many wildlife species of Bangladesh such as Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, leopard, fishing cat, golden cat, jungle cat, civets, etc. are facing various threats of extinction due to human-wildlife conflict [30, 31].

Roads through the natural habitats are intrusion to the wildlife habitats which adversely affect the wild animals. Effect of road ranges from habitat loss and fragmentation to the distribution pattern [34] of the animals, movement and reproductive behavior [35], and direct mortality by the moving vehicles [36, 37]. In Bangladesh, many forest areas have been bisected by roads, highways, and railway tracts which contribute negatively in losing biodiversity at a much faster rate. Nocturnal animals

**24**

Excessive and uncontrolled tourism activities pose a great threat to wild animals especially for small forest patches like Satchari and Lawachara National Parks. These parks are critical habitats for critically endangered mammalian species like hoolock gibbon and other primates. With the growing tourist activities in the core of these critical habitats especially during winter season, the daily activity of wildlife activities is heavily impacted both diurnal and nocturnal species. The breeding activities are interrupted by such unwise human activities [4].
