Nepal close to doubling tiger population by 2022
2 Aug PTI
Nepal's tiger population has increased by 64 per cent in the last
five years and the country plans to double their numbers by 2022,
government said.
Addressing a gathering here on the occasion of World Tiger Day,
Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Mahesh Acharya said that tiger
population in Nepal has increased by 64 per cent from 2009 to 2013. “The
current population of tiger in the country is estimated to be 198, up
from 121 in 2009,” Acharya said.
The minister also expressed confidence that Nepal would easily
achieve its target of doubling its tiger population to 250 by
2022.Pointing out that the loss of habitat, human-animal conflict,
organised poaching and illegal wildlife trade were the major threats in
tiger conservation efforts of the government, the minister suggested
that Nepal needs to work in collaboration with tiger reserves in India
for better results.
Director General, Department of National Park and Wildlife
Conservation Megh Bahadur Pandey said that Nepal was among the leading
countries in the world in tiger conservation efforts owing to its strong
security arrangement, regular tiger monitoring mechanism and
participatory conservation efforts.
Chitawan National Park is the largest tiger sanctuary in Nepal, which
is home to 120 tigers, followed by Bardia National Park with 50 tigers,
17 in Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, seven in Parsa Wildlife Reserve and
four in Banke National Park. World Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29
every year to raise awareness about tiger conservation efforts
throughout the world.
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