CHITWAN, Dec 18: The tiger census has started in Chitwan National Park (CNP) from Thursday. After training 150 census workers on December 17 and 18, they have been deployed to their respective field areas.
According to the CNP’s Information Officer Avinash Thapa Magar, census workers were deployed today in Triveni, Amaltari, Kasara, and Barandabhar areas. He said 286 grids will be set up in this first phase, with one pair of automated cameras installed in each grid.
Magar stated that Chitwan and Parsa National Parks will be treated as one block for the census, which has been divided into three sections. In each section, cameras will remain for two weeks to capture tiger activity. In the Chitwan–Parsa block, a total of 958 grids will be used, with each grid covering approximately two square kilometers.
Tiger census begins today
“The census is also being conducted in Bardia, Banke, and Shuklaphanta National Parks. The process will take three months. Tiger censuses are conducted every four years,” said Magar.
Park staff, technical personnel from the National Nature Conservation Fund, local volunteers, students and conservation partners are participating in the census. Camps have been set up at central locations in the grids to provide accommodation for census workers.
Census workers will monitor cameras daily, with 8 to 12 grids assigned to each worker. After retrieving the cameras, the study will begin. Cameras will be installed in areas frequented by tigers to capture their photos. The tigers will be identified based on the unique patterns on their bodies.
“The patterns on each tiger are different. The first complex will cover this group, the second complex will cover Banke and Bardia National Parks, which will also be divided into three blocks. The third complex will include Shuklaphanta National Park and Laljhadi, treated as a single block,” he explained.
During the last census conducted in 2022, Nepal had 355 adult tigers. Chitwan had 128, Bardiya 125, Banke 25, Parsa 41 and Shuklaphanta 36 tigers.
After the tiger census, preparations will begin for a rhino census. Last year’s rhino census was canceled due to budget constraints, the park office said.
