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Are tiger numbers really increasing in Nepal?
Everyone loves good news. Nature lovers in Nepal had one recently with the government announcing an increase in the population of tigers in the country’s national parks and wildlife reserves.
On World Tiger Day this Sunday, government agencies and wildlife activists gave themselves a pat on their backs by declaring that the number of big cats has risen from 155 in 2010 to 176 now.
It was announced that the data was more scientific and reliable than previous years. But how accurate are the figures that show a steady increase in tiger population in Nepal for more than a decade?
In 1998, the country had just 98 tigers. The figure rose by 11 to 109 in two years. By 2005 it had climbed to 126, only to decrease to 121 three years later. Then there was sudden increase of 34 tigers in 2010.
In Nepal, tigers are found in Chitwan National Park, Bardiya National Park, Shukla Phata Wildlife Reserve and the Parsa Wildlife Reserve. The bulk of the population is found in Chitwan.
This year’s figures show 125 tigers in Chitwan, 37 in Bardiya (from 18 in 2009), 10 in Shukla Phata (from eight three years ago) and four in Parsa. If figures are to be believed, there has been no change in numbers in Chitwan from the previous count two years ago.
It worth noting here that the numbers of wild tigers alive in Nepal could be anyone’s guess as there has been no fool-proof scientific count of their numbers over the years.
Tigers in all protected areas in Nepal have never been counted simultaneously-as is the norm in most tiger censuses in other countries. There are plans to do that in November next year.
Government officials admit the figure of 155 tigers in 2010 was arrived at by compiling results of previous counts. And with 21 new tigers detected recently in Bardiya and Shukla Phata, they were added to the previous figure to reach the mark of 176.
Those doing the counting seem to have forgotten than in the past two years several of the 155 tigers ‘counted’ in 2010 may have died due to natural reasons or fallen prey to poachers.
While the good news was being delivered in Kathmandu, a senior forest official in Chitwan told media persons that nearly five tigers are killed annually by poachers. His comment was based on statements of poachers and smugglers caught with tiger skins and body parts.
“Our tiger counts are not completely scientific. When we add new numbers of tigers found in a certain area, some of the tigers counted in the previous census might have already been killed or died. In this way, we can never figure out the exact number of tigers.”
This was an admission by Maheshwor Dahal, an ecologist at department of national parks and wildlife conservation at Sunday’s event. But everyone seems to have ignored the comment to focus on the good news.
In another eight years, Nepal plans to double its number of tigers from 155 in 2010 to over 300. And going by the way tiger counts are conducted, the country will definitely achieve that goal with ease.
But for the sake of the tigers, who need more concrete conservation measures to save them from extinction, hopefully government officials and wildlife activists present a more accurate and reliable figure when they give us the next dose of good news.
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MR SKChadha this shows ur narrow minded nature…the poetry and culture has nothing to do with the animosities between the two countries…you call urself a secular country and all your policies are hinducentric.. suppressing Muslims in Kashmir. Supressing sikhs..killing christians..where is ur secularism…and here also you are critcizing a person who has shown his admiration and love for culture
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But with CNG been not available across all parts – many people tend to go in for Diesel. Else, keeping environment friendliness – State Government should give some incentive for CNG similar on lines of Maharastra Government. Moreover, with the comparison between Diesel and CNG – CNG leads to higher savings than diesel cars
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The saving on diesel car is valid if you buy in all cash. Else, you will pay Rs 45,000 extra as interest cost for a loan of 5 years @ 11.5%. Hence, overall saving will be just about Rs 15,000. Petrol cars have better resale value than diesel cars, so overall savings will shrink further.
CNG is the cheapest for sure, but wont save you Rs 1L. The resale value will drop by atleast 50%. There are other issues as well, you dont have much choice in CNG. It you are not going for factory/ dealer fitted CNG, warranty on your car will lapse. Also, it is a pain to queue up at CNG pump every third day for 30 minutes. You will have to switch to petrol for highway driving!!
CNG makes more sense if you plan to retain car for 6-7 years and run it for more than 1.5L kms (avg 2,000 kms per month)
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Anonymous Reply:
June 11th, 2012 at 9:08 am
Petrol cars have better resale value? I have put my excellent top of the line 4 year old petrol car in the market and I am getting 17% of its original cost whereas a 9 year old diesel car flew the day after the advert – for a fantastic price I may add. Right now used petrol cars have zero market.
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Petrol mileage of 17+ Kmpl? what car are you talking about? There is another thing: whereas the reality is closer to the mileage claims of diesel car manufacturers, among petrol cars the gap between the claim and reality is unacceptably wide.
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I think its great that the number of species is been increase that mean Nepal is been taking good care of the animals.
http://www.hksconsultants.com/
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