Tiger Conservation Success

Tiger, the ferocious and majestic wild cat, is found in 13 range countries around the world including Nepal. In the global tiger summit held in Russia’s St. Petersburg in 2010, the tiger range countries pledged to work to double tiger numbers by 2022. Then, Nepal’s wild tiger population was 121, and today we boast of tripling tiger number. Now Nepal’s tiger population stands at 355. This is really a remarkable track record achieved in tiger conservation. The nation must be duly recognised and rewarded for this extraordinary conservation feat. The effective habitat management, strong anti-poaching measures and active engagement of the local community helped Nepal achieve the ambitious global commitment. Promoting human tiger coexistence, minimising poaching and proliferating knowledge and research is essential for the sustainable conservation of tigers. The government should now focus on sustaining conservation where humans and wild animals can co-exit in harmony.

The shrinking of habitat has posed unprecedented challenges to human-tiger coexistence. Human-tiger conflict is aggravated when tiger attacks people and their livestock and this conflict poses substantial threat on both sides. We frequently come across the news of tiger attack in the areas near Chitwan and Bardiya National Park as the habitat of tigers and humans are overlapping with the shrinking of animal habitat due settlement expansion. Tigers are territorial animals and they naturally need larger area to live and forage when their population goes up. But the habitats are not expanding even when tiger number is increasing. This is where the problem starts. If enough prey animals are not available in the wild, tigers enter villages and kill domestic cattle incurring big losses to the farmers. The problem is more serious when some tigers become man-eaters and attack people. 

Expanding the areas of habitat and the growth of prey animals in the jungle can significantly reduce the human-tiger conflict. Tigers face threats due to anthropogenic activities as well which is often overlooked. The activities like jeep safari and elephant safari, which are the part of wildlife tourism, disturb the tranquil environment in which tigers thrive. These disturbances are perhaps making tigers more hostile towards people in recent times. Shiva Raj Bhatta, Programme Director at WWF Nepal, says that Nepal has achieved more than its global commitment in tiger conservation. According to him, it is now imperative for the country to shift the focus towards maintaining population by addressing the critical issues of habitat destruction and animal-human coexistence. Conservation experts say that monitoring and research works enable us to better understand tiger behaviour and population dynamics. In case of the appearance of a potentially dangerous or problematic tiger, they suggest for responsive actions like rescuing and relocating the animals when necessary, rather than killing them. For instance, man-eater tigers can be darted and tranquilised and rehabilitated in a zoo.

These majestic creatures are the part of our identity.  Each year numerous tourists visit Nepal to behold the beauty and ferocity of these beasts which can help generate tourism income for those involved in the industry. Wildlife tourism is an important source of revenue. This mode of tourism can hugely benefit the locals residing in vicinity of the national parks and conservation areas. Locals get to work as tourist guides. Local hotels and restaurants can flourish and the promotion of local cuisine. Such activities can help local produce to get the market. However, wildlife tourism should be equally sensitive to the natural ecology and conservation of the animals. This can minimise human-animal conflict and promote co-existence.