There are only around 100 tigers left in Bangladesh's Sundarban forest, a number which is far lower than previously thought.
The mangrove forest, one of the tigers' biggest natural habitats, spans 3,860 miles and was believed to have been home to more than 400 of the big cats.
The newest figure is a huge drop since the last tiger census in 2004, however experts say the difference may be due to a more accurate method of taking stock of the animals, rather than counting pugmarks.
The recent survey was based on hidden camera footage, which found there to be between 83 and 130 tigers in the region.
"So plus or minus we have around 106 tigers in our parts of the Sundarbans," Tapan Kumar Dey, the Bangladesh government’s wildlife conservator, told AFP. "It’s a more accurate figure."
Despite India reporting a near-on 30% rise in wild tiger population, the worldwide number is currently estimated at a mere 3,200 compared to 100,000 in 1900 - a 97% decrease in just over a century.
Monirul Khan, a zoology professor at Bangladesh’s Jahangirnagar University and the nation's foremost tiger expert, said the survey confirmed his worst fears.
“It seems the population has declined more than we had feared,” Khan said, as he urged Bangladesh's government to take action to protect the animals.
The WWF says they are at risk of extinction, thanks to "unrelenting pressures" from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss.
The Sundarban forest, which is the only mangroves habitat where tigers are found, is increasingly threatened by sea level rise as a result of climate change.
Bangladesh tigers were formerly found in 11 districts of the country, but now only reside in the forest. A report released by the Dr Hasan Mahmud, the country's state minister of environment and forests, in 2009 set out long-term strategic goals, which included "marginally increase or stabilise the Sundarbans tiger population by reducing key threats to tigers, prey and habitat", and "maintain sufficient habitat and prey base to support the Sundarbans tiger".
Sudarban tigers
India Tigers Census(01 of07)
Open Image ModalIn this Saturday, April 26, 2014, file photo, a Royal Bengal tiger prowls in Sunderbans, at the Sunderban delta, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Calcutta, India. India's latest tiger census shows a sharp increase in the number of endangered cats in the wild, raising hopes that conservation efforts are working. (AP Photo/Joydip Kundu, File) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Tigers Attack(02 of07)
Open Image ModalIn this Wednesday, March 19, 2014, photo, a Royal Bengal tiger prowls in Sunderbans, at the Sunderban delta, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Calcutta, India. An Indian fisherman says a tiger has snatched a man off a fishing boat and dragged him away into a mangrove swamp. (AP Photo/ Joydip Kundu) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Tiger Release(03 of07)
Open Image ModalA young female Royal Bengal tiger swims in the water after it was released into the Sundarban Wildlife Reserve near Calcutta, in India's West Bengal state, Wednesday, April 28, 2010. The tiger was found straying by officials during a storm in recent days until it was released. According to the most recent Indian government census there are only roughly 1,400 tigers left in the country. (AP Photo/Joydip Suchandra Kundu) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Tiger Release(04 of07)
Open Image ModalGame officials watch as a young female Royal Bengal tiger leaps into the water from a cage as it is released into the Sundarban Wildlife Reserve near Calcutta, in India's West Bengal state, Wednesday, April 28, 2010. The tiger was found straying by officials during a storm in recent days until it was released. According to the most recent Indian government census there are only roughly 1,400 tigers left in the country. (AP Photo/Joydip Suchandra Kundu) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Tigers(05 of07)
Open Image ModalIn this Thursday, March 4, 2010 photo, a pugmark of what forest officials claimed a tiger is seen stamped on mud during a survey on tiger population at the Sunderban delta, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Calcutta, India. Dismissing official claims that there are more than 1,400 tigers left in the wild in India, India's minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said in February 2010, the estimate was too optimistic and the real number was likely to be less than 1,000. (AP Photo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
India Disappearing Island(06 of07)
Open Image ModalFILE - This photo taken Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009 shows mangrove trees submerged in the river water in Sundarban delta, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of Calcutta, India. Scientists have warned of alarming rise in temperatures in the Bay of Bengal due to climate change which could inundate coastal islands, destroy mangrove forests and affect India's Sunderbans, home to the largest wild population of Bengal tigers and one million people. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the rate of warming was quite high during 1993-2007. The Sunderbans is about 3,860 square miles of marshlands and mangrove forests along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Tiger Cub | Sunderban Tiger Reserve(07 of07)
Open Image ModalI have been travelling in the Indian National parks for the past 5/6 yrs and photographed many tigers during this period. Every place, wherever I go people used to ask me whether I have seen Sundarban's tiger. And my simple answer was "Not Yet".Like every wildlife lover I am also dreaming to see a glimpse of Bengal tiger in Sunderban (forget about photography) and due to this thrust I have been travelling in the mangroves for the past couple of yrs, though I know it is pure a matter of luck and there exist minimal possibility to see them.Ultimately, I am blessed....after searching them for almost 5yrs in the mangroves....This little fella came out of the bush and crossed the mangrove patch by giving some mysterious look.Clicked many pictures of this little beauty, this is one of them.Indeed it was a touchy and emotional moment for me. (credit:Arindam.Bhattacharya/Flickr)