KATHMANDU, JUL 30 - National parks in Banke, Bardiya and Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve have witnessed a dramatic surge in Tiger numbers, recent surveys conducted by park officials suggest.
The number of big cats have nearly doubled in the past few years in these protected areas. “At least seven tigers have been observed in Banke National Park during the recent census. The number has been doubled in comparison with the latest tiger census,” Tikaram Adhikari, director general at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told the Post.
Adhikari attributed the surge to conservation of forest and increase in number of various prey animals in the parks. Three stripe tigers were spotted in Banke National Park, the youngest national park of the country, during the tiger census conducted in 2012.
“The number of tigers has increased significantly. The internal census by the park could be helpful to frame further strategies to conserve tiger,” said Ganesh Panta, the chief conservation officer at Banke National Park.
Around 70 adult tigers and 13 cubs were observed in Bardiya National Park during the recent survey conducted by the park, the officials there. Assistant Conservation Officer Ashok Kumar Bhandari said the number of big cats in the park was estimated to be between 35 and 50 during the last tiger census held in 2013.
Tiger sightings have become a commonplace in the park and in the buffer zone in adjoining Neulapur, Bagnaha, Dhodhari, Suryapatuwa and Khata wildlife corridors, according to local people.
Likewise, the census carried out in 2014 put the number of tigers in Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve at 16 tigers. There were just eight big cats in the reserve five years ago.
“The number of tigers has been doubled in the past five years. It is a significant achievement,” said Assistant Conservation Officer Chandra Bahadur Chand. He claimed the tiger population would surge dramatically in the reserve if the poaching was controlled.
(Reported by Janak Nepal in Banke, Kamal Panthi in Bardiya and Bhawani Bhatta in Kanchanpur)
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