Nation»
Report shows rise in Nepal’s tiger population
KATHMANDU, JUL 29 -
Despite the tiger population dwindling worldwide, some good news is flowing in from Chitwan National Park (CNP) where the number of adult tigers rose to 125, a jump of 34, as compared to a count conducted about two years ago.
Altogether there are 155 adult tigers in the country now, a government report released on Thursday revealed. The first ever nationwide tiger census conducted in 2008-2009 had found 121 adult tigers in the country.
Marking the International Tiger Day on Thursday, Gopal Upadhyay, Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), released the report prepared after a three-month monitoring that started in December 2009 in forests adjoining CNP.
Ghanashyam Gurung, conservation programme director with WWF Nepal, said the growth in the tiger population inside CNP was observed after a survey in the Tarai and Chure hill range in Chitwan that were not included in last year’s count.
As per the count, CNP boasts of 125 tigers while it was 91 last year.
A curb in poaching activities with effective conservation efforts inside CNP and expansion of tiger habitats contributed to the rise in tiger population, Gurung said.
The study was carried out by the DNPWC along with the National Trust for Nature Conservation and WWF Nepal.
“The growth is good news for conservationists. However, it does not mean we should be satisfied as challenges still persist in the field of tiger conservation given the rampant illegal trade of its parts in the international market,” said Prasanna Yonzon, chief executive officer of Wildlife Conservation Nepal.
Tigers could be wiped out within a short period of time as it was observed in Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve where there were around 28 tigers in 2005 but the number went down to four in 2008-2009, he said. There were around 360-370 tigers in 2000 in Nepal. According to experts, there are only around 3,500 tigers in the wild in 13 tiger range countries in sharp contrast to about 100,000 a century ago.
Nepal, India MoU
KATHMANDU: The government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India in a bid to control illegal trade along the borders between the two countries.
Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Gopal Prasad Upadhyay and Deputy Inspector General of National Tiger Conservation Authority, Ministry of Environment and Forests of India, Satya Prakash Yadav, signed the agreement to work together to curb illegal wildlife trade and strengthen conservation activities between the tiger range countries.
Posted on: 2010-07-30 08:25
Headlines
Advertisements
