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With steadfast change and downfall in the environment and ecosystem, animals have suffered the most. Being taken away from their natural way of life and forced to adapt to the calamitic changes the world is facing, tigers of Nepal prove to be a miracle story for all with their population count almost doubling!
As per World Wildlife Fund Nepal, Nepal is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to double its wild tiger population since 2010, which is an amazing feat for wildlife and nature. “Nepal is a great example for other tiger range countries to step up and commit to the same level of political will and excellence," said Ginette Hemley, Senior Vice President of wildlife conservation at World Wildlife Fund.
Tigers are at relatively lower risk from the impacts of climate change due to their ability to tolerate fluctuations in weather conditions and high reproductive rates.However, they face rampant poaching and hunting and the past few decades had seen a dramatic fall in the number of tigers.
In honour of International Tiger Day which is celebrated every year on July 29, Ministry of Forest and Environment is organising several programmes in Kohalpur. A central event is being organised in Banke National Park near the habitat of the tigers.
Bishnu Prasad Shrestha, Spokesperson of Department of National Park and Wildlife Protection, while speaking to various other news portals informed about the numerous participatory activities being held today. The department, he informed, is organising field level programmes in Chitwan, Parsa, Bardiya and Shuklaphata National Parks which also happen to be the habitat of this feline.
The 2010 Global Conference held in Russia made commitment to double the population of tigers in 13 countries by 2022. Nepal being one of the countries had pledged to increase the tiger count from 121 to 250. Shrestha said Nepal is very close to reaching this target. The current tiger count according to the National Tiger Census 2018 is 235. Chitwan National Park has 93 tigers followed by Bardiya National Park which has 87, Banke National Park with a count of 21, Parsa National Park with 18 and Shuklaphata National Park and buffer zone area with 16.
Nepal has been celebrating the International Tiger Day and also conducting tiger census at a national level since 2067 BS.
