Joe Kahlo
The number of wild tigers in Nepal has nearly doubled since 2009, according to the latest survey.
In 2009, there were only 121 tigers left in the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) which is a range that spans India and Nepal and according to the most recent survey, there are now 235.
In the four years following the survey, the tiger population jumped nearly 20 percent, up from 198. Images from camera traps and statistical models were used to help estimate the number of animals in five of the country’s national parks. There is hope that Nepal’s tiger conservation “recipe” might inspire other countries to increase their efforts to protect and learn more about the iconic and beloved big cats.
Here’s a video on how they did it:
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who has helped fund the tiger conservation in Nepal’s Bardia National Park said in a press release, “this significant increase in Nepal’s tiger population is proof that when we work together, we can save the planet’s wildlife—even species facing extinction.”
Nepal is one of only 13 tiger-range countries which are striving to double the world’s tiger population by 2022. This goal was set at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit back in 2010. Worldwide tiger populations have been declining for the past century. This is mainly down to habitat destruction and poaching. The good news is that these numbers have started to grow in recent years thanks to dedicated conservation efforts.
The efforts in Nepal to help save the tigers have included things like building corridors to connect patches of the tigers protected habitat, identifying prey species and working to improve their population as well to keep them fed, and incentivizing community surveillance and the reporting of poaching activities.
Recently, Nepal who home to some of the world’s most endangered species, celebrated an important milestone in conservation this year. Since 2011, the country has gone a full 365 days without a single rhino poaching event, five times over. So that’s 5 full years without any poaching!
