Tigers amaze tourists and scare villagers in Nepal, but maybe the incense burned and the diyos lit for the tiger god Bag Bhairav are working. The tiger population in Nepal has increased this year, according to a recent data released by the government on the occasion of the first “Tiger Conservation Day.”

There are total of 155 adult tigers—or, about six adult tigers per 100 square kilometers. Last year, the record showed a total of 121 adult tigers in Nepal. Officials said this was a good population for breeding purposes.

This is good news for conservationists, as the worldwide tiger population is decreasing due to deforestation, encroachment and poaching. The total population is estimated to be 3,500.

The governments of Nepal and India signed a joint resolution to work together to conserve tigers. India and Nepal together hold over fifty percent of the world’s tigers.

The resolutions were signed as an outcome of the 4th Nepal-India Consultative Meeting on Trans-boundary Biodiversity Conservation, at a function held in Kathmandu on Thursday.

“Besides having common boundary, we are facing similar challenges of tiger conservation. Such relation is extremely important for combating illegal wildlife trade and landscape level conservation for tigers and other wild animals,” said SP Yadav, the joint director of the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India.

Tiger Population Monitoring was done in Chitwan National Park under the coordination of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and with the support of WWF Nepal and National Trust for Nature Conservation.

Authorities have said that Nepal’s habitat is best for tiger conservation, as tigers look for peaceful and dense jungles. The Nepalese government says it is committed to increasing the tiger population to 250 by 2022, which would be the next Year of the Tiger.

—Rajneesh Bhandari

http://www.filmat11.tv/news-updates/2010/07/tiger-tiger-burning-bright