GULARIYA, JULY 29

The number of Royal Bengal Tiger has reached around 125 at the Bardiya National Park in Bardiya district, making it the country's second biggest habitat for the big cats.

Chitwan National Park has the highest number of Royal Bengal Tiger at 128 at present.

The Bardiya National Park, which had 18 tigers of this species in 2010, got the number of the wild cats increased three times by 2022, thanks to the conservation bid in involvement of the local community, said Conservation Officer at the Park, Purusottam Wagle.

Wagle shared the good news marking the World Tiger Day celebrated on July 29 every year to raise awareness about the endangered big cats.

He also said that cases of tiger attack at Bardiya National Park and buffer zones were noticeably decreased in the past two years.

According to him, the Park has been emphasizing habitat management for tigers, awareness in the community, electric fencing and erecting concrete walls to prevent human-wildlife conflict, development of other infrastructures and implementation of various methods to increase the number of tigers and other wildlife.

Along with the remarkable rise in the number of big cats, their movement in Khata biological corridor and adjacent forest areas has also increased, he observed.

The locality is, however, not far from recording fatalities from tiger attacks. Five people lost their lives to tiger and cheetah attack last fiscal year, senior officer at the Park, Tanka Gurung, added.

Plans are in place to minimize human-wildlife conflict in the National Park areas in the current fiscal year, he informed.