The Royal Bengal tiger, India’s pride as well as its national animal, is in danger of being wiped out from Bengal due to the damaging effects of climate change, the Times of India reports.

A recent study published by Australia’s James Cook University cautions that the next 50 years could witness the devastation of the Sundarbans, home to the Royal Bengal tiger, due to climate change and rising sea levels.

The Sundarbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal. It spans from the Hooghly River in India’s state of West Bengal to the Baleswar River in Bangladesh.

There exists no other place as the Sundarbans on earth, and what’s most terrifying is that the analyses suggest tiger habitats in the Sundarbans will vanish altogether by 2070.

Despite the fact that India’s national animal has extraordinary levels of protection, more sanctuaries than ever, and a steady increase in population over the last few years, the future of the majestic cats is in dark. There are fewer than 4,000 of the endangered big cats left in the wild currently.

James Cook University professor and co-author Bill Laurance says, “There is hope, the analysis is a potential forecast if the Bengal tiger and its domain are not more fiercely protected. The more of the Sundarbans that can be conserved via new protected areas and reducing illegal poaching.”