RATNANAGAR: The programme scheduled to be organised today by the Chitwan National Park to mark the International Tiger Day has been affected due to bandh.

The park had planned to felicitate conservationists as well as organise public awareness programmes on the need to protect Tigers but had to be postponed due to the Chitwan bandh today, said spokesperson of the Park Tikaram Poudel. The event will be marked later at an opportune time, he added.

Meanwhile, the Chitwan National Park has been globally acclaimed for tiger protection. It was also honoured with the CITES award last year.

According to 2013 estimates, Nepal is home to 198 tigers and of them 120 are found in the Chitwan National Park. The number of tigers that was believed to be around 100,000 in 1913 came down to 3,274 in 2013.

The latest count according to experts is 3,000. At this rate, all tigers living in the wild could be extinct in the next five years. Tigers are presently found only in 14 countries around the world including Nepal.