Himal Press 
File Photo: WWF
KATHMANDU: A sanctuary to house problem tigers is being built in Devnagar, Chitwan.
National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) to establish the sanctuary to minimize growing human-tiger conflict.
According to the NTNC, the initiative aims to complement the government’s ongoing efforts to address human–tiger conflict by providing a long-term solution for the management of tigers that cannot safely return to the wild.
The proposed sanctuary will spread over 50 hectares.
NTNC Member-Secretary Dr Chiranjivi Pokharel and TWAS Executive Director Pat Craig signed the MoU in Colorado on September 28.
With the tiger population doubling in Nepal, the number of cases of tigers entering human settlements and causing human casualties has been rising.
Nepal’s tiger population in the wild has reached 429, according to the survey results released by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation on Global Tiger Day, i.e., July 29. This represents a growth of 74 from the 2022 count of 355. At least 40 tiger-related human deaths have been reported since 2019, while tiger attacks in different parts of the country have cost 18 human lives between 2019 and 2023.
Tigers that enter settlements and attack people are being captured and kept in enclosures. “As there is a need for a separate sanctuary for the long-term care, modern housing and scientific management of such problem tigers, the NTNC has moved ahead with a partnership with an international organization,” NTNC said.
As per the MoU, the government will provide land for the sanctuary, while the TWAS will mobilize financial and technical resources for the sanctuary’s physical infrastructure, natural habitat design, veterinary hospital and enclosure construction.
Tigers housed in the sanctuary will not be used for commercial entertainment, photo sessions, games, or breeding purposes, it added.
