Nepal has seen the number of tigers living in the wild triple since 2010, officials have said.
The number of Bengal tigers in Nepal rose from 121 in 2009 to 355 in 2022 according to figures released Friday on World Tiger Day. The population has increased by 120 tigers since the last census in 2018, when the number stood at 235.
“The count shows that our tiger conservation efforts are paying off. It is the result of concerted efforts among all interested parties, including government departments and the public,” said Dil Bahadur Purja Pun, spokesman for the Department of National Parks and Conservation.
Conflict with humans
The increasing population leads to more and more conflicts with humans. At least 62 people have been killed in attacks by tigers in the last three years, the Kathmandu Post reported. Thakur Bhandari, an activist with a forest users’ organization, said the government paid little attention to the capacity of the forests. “Poor people, often from indigenous and excluded communities, are paying the price for Nepal’s obsession with increasing tiger numbers. We only need as many tigers as the forest can handle,” said Bhandari.
According to the conservation organization WWF (World Wildlife Fund), there are about 3,900 tigers left in the wild worldwide.
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