CHITWAN, Feb 12: Ramaya Soti, a resident of Milan Chowk, Devchuli Municipality-1, Nawalparasi (Bardaghat Susta East), left home on February 6 with four friends to collect cattle fodder from the Dibya Buffer Zone Community Forest near her home. But she never returned home.
A rhino attacked Soti, killing her on the spot. It also injured one of her companions, while the other two managed to escape.
Wildlife attacks in Chitwan National Park (CNP) and buffer zone community forests have claimed an alarming number of lives over the years. In the past four and a half years alone, wild animals have killed 70 people and injured 141 others in these areas.
Tigers, rhinos, elephants, wild boars, crocodiles, and gaur (Indian bison) have fatally attacked people, mostly while they were collecting cattle fodder or wild mushrooms, according to CNP.
Since the fiscal year 2020/21, tigers have caused the highest number of human fatalities. CNP records show that tigers have killed 36 people during this period. Similarly, rhinos have killed 19 people, elephants 10, crocodiles and wild boars two each, and a gaur (Indian bison) has claimed one life, said information officer Avinash Thapa Magar.
He stated that the fiscal year 2021/22 recorded the highest number of fatalities in the last four and a half years, with 30 people losing their lives. During that year, tiger attacks alone claimed 21 lives. Rhino attacks killed five people, and elephant attacks caused the deaths of four others. A total of 24 people were injured that year.
In other fiscal years, wildlife attacks have resulted in an average of 10 fatalities. As of February 10 in the current fiscal year, eight people have died in wildlife attacks, and 13 others have been injured. This year, rhino attacks have killed six people, and elephant and tiger attacks have each claimed one life.
The park's records show that elephants, rhinos, tigers, and wild boars killed 11 people in the fiscal year 2023/24, nine people in the fiscal year 2022/23, and 12 people in the fiscal year 2020/21.
Residents of the buffer zone often enter the park and community forests with permission to collect fodder. Most of the victims of wildlife attacks were engaged in these activities when the incidents occurred. Prakash Dhungana, the president of the Chitwan National Park Buffer Zone Community Forest Consumers Committee, emphasizes that managing wildlife habitats properly is essential to reducing human-wildlife conflicts.
"Such incidents have become quite regular in Chitwan. To reduce them, we must manage the grass inside the jungle for the wildlife. We must also install concrete barriers to prevent the wildlife from coming out of the buffer zones," said President Dhungana. "We need to stop people from unnecessarily entering the area. They must be educated about the behavior of wildlife."