The Sundarbans is the delta region shared by India and Bangladesh that contains the world’s largest mangrove forest and provides habitat for Bengal tigers. It occupies the seaward portion of the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta along the Bay of Bengal.
The forest is a maze of tidal rivers, creeks, mudflats, and low-lying islands. Salt-tolerant trees such as sundari and gewa thrive in shifting mixtures of fresh and salt water, while their tangled roots stabilize sediment and provide nurseries for fish, crabs, and shrimp.
The Bengal tiger is the Sundarbans’ best-known resident. Unlike tigers living inland, these cats regularly swim between mangrove islands and navigate a tidal landscape. The forest also supports spotted deer, fishing cats, saltwater crocodiles, monkeys, reptiles, and hundreds of bird species.
The name is sometimes written “Sunderbans” or “Sundarban,” but “Sundarbans” is the standard English name for the larger transboundary forest. It is not the same as India’s Sundarbans National Park, which is only one protected section of the wider region.