Govt set to announce tiger population on July 29

Close to meeting the target of doubling the number
KATHMANDU – The government is all set to announce the tiger population in Nepal on July 29 to mark the occasion of world tiger conservation day, officials said.

According to ecologist at Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC),
Laxman Poudel, preparations are being made to unveil the latest figure of tiger census done by the department. “We are analyzing the latest data received from various national parks where tigers live,” he said. “Experts from different government bodies are engaged in analyzing the data.”

DNPWC Ecologist, Nepal National Nature Conservation Trust expert NareshSubedi, WWF Nepal’s Shiva Raj Bhatta and KanchanThapa, and ZSL’s BhagwanDahal, among others, are the member of expert group. Tigers are found in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, Parsa National Park, Banke National Park, Bardiya National Park, Suklaphanta National Park.

The 2013 census had put the number of tigers in Nepal at 198. There are 120 tigers in Chitwan National Park alone. Similarly, the date showed 7 tigers in Parsa, four in Banke and 50 in Bardiya and 17 around Suklaphanta. In 2010, there were only 121 tigers living in Nepal’s wildlife sanctuary.

Closer to the target of doubling tiger population
Nepal is inching closer to meeting of target of doubling the tiger population. It has been estimated that there are 235 tigers in Nepal against the target of increasing the number of tiger to 250 by 2022.

The internal data provided by various national parks show that Nepal is on track to meet the target of doubling the number of tigers. Officials at the Department of National Parks and experts of other partner organizations seem upbeat about the double increase in tiger populations. During 2010 Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nepal had set the target of doubling the tiger populations by 2022.

The target was set during the tenure of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. In 2010, there were 121 tigers. The number of tigers should be increased to 250 to meet the target. According to 2016 data of various national parks, Parsa has 19 tigers, Suklaphant has 17, Bardiya has 62, and Banke has 13. Though the tiger population is believed to have increased in Chitwan, there was no internal census of previous year. The number of tigers reaches 231 if 120 tigers of Chitwan are added.

Chitwan National Park information officer Narendra Aryal said it was difficult to count tigers in Chitwan owing to its larger area and higher number. “The photos taken at the National Park and the conflict situation there shows the number of tiger must have grown,” he said. “We have captured images depicting tiger movement in buffer zones, and fighting of tigers.”

According to Parsa National Park Chief Warden Hari Bhadra Acharya, the number of tigers has increased in Parsa. He said the internal counting done in 2016 put the number of big cats at 13. Parsa and Chitwandistricts are connected. Likewise, Suklaphant Chief Warden Gopal Ghimire said there are 17 tigers in the national park.

“The data received from camera tapping method has indicated growth in the number of tigers,” he said. Likewise, the number of tigers is estimated to be around 62 in Bardiya where there were only 37 tigers when the target to double the number was set. Warden Manoh Sah said the internal counting in 2016 showed there were around 62 tigers at the national park.

According to Warden Dil Pun, the internal counting at Banke National Park had put the number of tigers at 13. “We found the tiger population stagnant until last year, but the number could have increased,” he said.

Six species of tigers in the world
Of the six different species of tigers found in the world, royal Bengal tiger is the most numerous subspecies of tiger. Other species of tiger are Amur (Siberian), Indo-Chinese, Malayan, Bengal, Sumatran and South-China. Tiger is an important indicator of environmental conservation. Experts say the conservation of tiger will help in the preservation of forest, Terai-Chure and watershed area.

13 countries have tiger
Experts said tigers are found in only 13 countries of the world. In Asia, they are found in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar, and North Korea. India has the highest number of tigers, but North Korea has not counted its tigers. Though the tiger population was said to be around 100,000 until 100 years ago, there number of sharply declined and come down to 3000, according experts.

Challenges due to surge in numbers of tigers
Experts say the growth in number of tigers at national parks has increased the challenges. Tiger expert Dr Chiranjivi Prasad Pokharel said if the tiger population increases there is a challenge that the big cats could go outside the forest. “We have to be prepared to deal the increase in number of tigers,” he said.
“If we couldn’t improve the wildlife habitat, there is an equal possibility that the population of animals including tigers will decrease.”

Elephants used to count tigers
Thirty-seven elephants were used to count the number of tigers. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation mobilized 37 elephants to take the data of tiger populations in Chitwan National Park, Parsa National Park, Banke National Park, Bardiya National Park and Suklaphant National Park. 15 elephants were mobilized in Chitwan, seven elephants each were mobilized in Parsa and Suklaphant, and four elephants each were used in Banke and Bardiya.

Method for tiger census
A total of 1887 grids were made and 200 camera taps were used to count the tigers. Cent compass, range finder, GPS, and record forms were also used, according the department. WWF Nepal and ZSL Nepal, among other organizations, extend financial aid for tiger census.

No of Tigers

The department has estimated to deploy 250 employees for 66 days and spend Rs 20.2 million for tiger census. The department has also imparted training to the employees.