Nepal tiger population roars back after conservation drive

KATHMANDU: Nepal has nearly tripled its wild tiger population, officials announced on Friday, in a victory for the Himalayan country’s efforts to help the big cats claw their way back from extinction.

Deforestation, human encroachment on habitats and poaching have devastated tiger populations across Asia, but Nepal and 12 other countries signed a pledge in 2010 to double their numbers by this year.

The Himalayan republic is the only country to meet or beat the target and a survey in 2022 counted 355 of the creatures, up from around 121 in 2009.

"We have succeeded in meeting an ambitious goal... I thank everyone involved in conservation of tigers," Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said at an event unveiling the figures in Kathmandu.

Conservationists surveyed the population with thousands of motion-sensitive cameras set up across a vast stretch of Nepal’s southern plains, where the majestic predators roam.

Wildlife experts combed through thousands of images to identify individual animals by their unique stripes.

The country’s internationally praised efforts to increase tiger numbers have, however, had a negative impact on some communities living near their habitats.

At least 16 people have been killed in tiger attacks in the past year, according to government data.