Seven cameras meant for tiger census lost, damaged

Chitwan, Jan 9: Among the cameras installed in Chitwan National Park for the ongoing tiger census, five have gone missing and two were damaged an elephant.     

For the tiger census that began on December 16, 2026, cameras were installed across around 286 grids. According to CNP Information Officer Abinash Thapa Magar, three cameras went missing from the Thumsi area and two from the Tamaspur area. In the Tiger Tops area, two cameras were smashed by the elephant.     

The cameras were lost while the park authorities were preparing to retrieve them after completing the first phase of the census. The census was initiated by treating Chitwan and Parsa National Parks as a single block. The first cluster covered the Tribeni, Amaltari, Kasara and Barandabhar areas.     

The census is currently underway in the second cluster, where 13 camps have been established. This cluster includes Sauraha, Khagendramalli, Lothar, Pratappur, Harda, Bote Simar, Someshwar, Bagai, Ambuwa and extends up to Shikari Bas.     

Earlier, in the tiger census conducted in 2022, Nepal had the presence of a total of 355 adult tigers. Of these, 128 were found in Chitwan National Park, 125 in Bardiya National Park, 25 in Banke National Park, 41 in Parsa National Park and 36 in Shuklaphanta National Park.(RSS)