Tiger Naming in Shuklaphanta

The number of tigers increased from 36 in 2022 to eight in two years

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The male tiger, about 4/5 years old, who has just been separated from his mother and is roaming the forest to make his home, is now named Yuvraj. Another male of similar age and condition has been named Rajkumar. Not only Rajkumar and Yuvraj but all the tigers in Shuklaphanta National Park have been named.

Tigers are named on the basis of age, physical condition, different marks on the body and their variations.

The park office has also named the tiger so that it can be identified during regular monitoring and counting. Those who wander for long distances are named nomads, those who look stronger than others are called maharajas, those who have small dharkas are called laghudharkas, etc. Tigers have been identified in different ways, but we have named them for the first time, said Lakshmiraj Joshi, head of the National Nature Conservation Fund's Shuklaphanta conservation program. , we have named them based on their body markings and physical condition. The park office tracked and counted tigers and rhinos last year with the help of the National Nature Conservation Fund, Zoological Society of London, and Himali Nature. Their names are also kept during the same calculation. It is said that it will be easier to identify which tiger is outside the park, whether it is during the counting in the future along with the monitoring of the tiger.

Last year from February 5 to 22, the number of tigers in the park has reached 44 based on 24 male, 17 female and 3 analysis based on the camera trapping method. This number is 8 more than the count made in 2022. At that time, the number of tigers in the park almost doubled to 36. The tiger census results were released on Friday on the occasion of Wildlife Week. Pramod Bhattarai, chief conservation officer of the park, said that the number of tigers is increasing continuously as in previous years. He said that this encouraged the conservationists. He said that with the increase in the number of tigers, the challenges in food and habitat management are increasing.

The park with an area of 350 square kilometers was made into 92 grids of 2/2 kilometers and a pair of cameras were installed in each grid. The results were obtained by collecting and analyzing the images of the cameras kept for 15 days. "In areas where the number is low and there is a risk of poaching, Pramod Bhattarai, the senior conservation officer of the park, said, "We have been counting and monitoring tigers in all areas of the park regularly along with the national census Variation is seen. The national census two years ago did not show tiger migration in the extended area of the park. This time, the migration of tigers has also been seen in the extended area. The 155 square kilometer area of the then wildlife reserve has been expanded. The wildlife reserve was upgraded to a park in 2071.