Tiger Census in Chitwan Faces Setback

Five cameras installed for the ongoing tiger census in Chitwan National Park have gone missing, while two others were damaged by an elephant, authorities report.

The loss was discovered as park officials prepared to retrieve the cameras after completing the first phase of the census.

The census, which began on December 16 last year, covers around 286 grids across Chitwan and Parsa National Parks, treated as a single block.

The first cluster included Tribeni, Amaltari, Kasara, and Barandabhar areas.

The second cluster, currently underway, has 13 camps and covers areas such as Sauraha, Khagendramalli, Lothar, Pratappur, Harda, Bote Simar, Someshwar, Bagai, Ambuwa, extending to Shikari Bas.

According to the 2022 National Tiger Census, Nepal has 355 adult tigers, with Chitwan alone home to 128, followed by Bardiya with 125, Banke 25, Parsa 41, and Shuklaphanta 36.