Tiger population in Nepal rises to 198

Kathmandu: Nepal`s Tiger population has reached 198, a 63 per cent increase over the last census, the government said as the country marked the World Tiger Day Monday.

A census carried out by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Nepal, has put the total of number of tigers in Nepal to 198, which is a 63 per cent increment as compared to the last census conducted in 2008-09, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Tek Bahadur Thapa, said. In the previous census, there were only 121 Royal Bengal Tigers in Nepal`s five protected areas. As per the new report, Chitawan National Park has the largest number with 120 tigers, Bardia has 50, Shuklaphanta 17, Banke 7 and Parsa with four tigers. At present, there are as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild. Over the last century wild tiger numbers have fallen disastrously, by more than 95 per cent - mainly due to poaching and the destruction of forests and other habitats they need for survival, WWF said. Thirteen countries that are home to the world`s decreasing tiger population had during a meeting in Bali, Indonesia in 2010 agreed upon a global plan to double tiger numbers in the wild in 10 years period and Nepal looks inching closer towards attaining that goal. In Bali the tiger range governments presented individual national plans to protect tigers. A Global Tiger Recovery Programme was also framed in Bali, which was endorsed during the World Tiger Summit held in St Petersburg, Russia later in November 2010. PTI