Kathmandu, December 16
The government has begun a nationwide tiger census across national parks, wildlife reserves and forest areas where tigers are found. The official launch of the exercise is scheduled to take place today at Kasara, the headquarters of Chitwan National Park.
The campaign, named the Fifth National Tiger Census, will be conducted using scientific methods and its results are expected to be released in March. The census area has been divided into three complexes: Chitwan–Parsa, Banke–Bardiya and Shuklaphanta–Laljhadi.
A total of 2,300 automatic camera traps will be used in the census, with an estimated budget of Rs 25 million. According to Chitwan National Park Information Officer Avinash Thapa Magar, participants will be trained at Kasara on Poush 1 and 2, while trained personnel will be deployed to the field from Poush 3, said park chief Dr Ganesh Pant.
Camera traps will be installed across around 8,400 square kilometres of tiger habitats. Each two-by-two square kilometre area will be treated as a grid, with a pair of cameras placed to ensure full coverage. More than 250 personnel will be mobilised for the census.
The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation is leading the effort with financial and technical support from organisations including the National Trust for Nature Conservation, WWF and ZSL. The results are planned to be made public on World Tiger Day on July 29, 2026.
Previous censuses recorded 121 tigers in 2009, 198 in 2013, 235 in 2018 and 355 in 2022, showing a steady rise in the tiger population.
