Chitwan, July 16:

Tigers in Chitwan National Park (CNP) will be counted from November, conservation officer of CNP Megh Bahadur Pandey said.

Stating that tigers had not been counted since 1995, he said the counting would throw light on habitats of tigers.

Pandey said instances of poaching of tigers had increased.

According to Harakman Lama, who was involved in the counting of tigers in 1995, the tigers would be counted this year by ‘camera trapping’ system, which is scientific and expensive.

According to a Chitwan National Park estimate, there are around 370 tigers in Nepal. Of them, 123 are adult or bear the capacity of reproduction.

Diwakar Chapagain of World Wildlife Conservation Planning (WWCP) said that rise in

smuggling of tiger bones and hide was responsible for the decline in tiger’s population.