Nepal's tiger numbers rise 20 percent to an estimated 429

Nepal's tiger population has risen by roughly 20 percent in the past four years to an estimated 429, officials said on Wednesday, a conservation milestone despite challenges from human-wildlife conflict. The latest nationwide survey found tiger numbers had increased from 355 in 2022, reinforcing the Himalayan nation's reputation as a success story in big-cat conservation. "The data analysis shows that the tiger population has increased by five percent each year, and we are happy to see this increasing trend," Bed Kumar Dhakal, spokesman for Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told AFP. Read moreCambodia wants to bring tigers back, but should it? The survey was conducted between December and July, and was announced to coincide with International Tiger Day. It covered more than 7,300 square kilometres of Nepal's southern plains that are home to the predators. Wildlife officials deployed more than 3,600 motion-sensitive cameras across five protected areas, with experts analysing thousands of images to identify individual tigers by their distinctive stripe patterns. "The reason behind the increasing number of tigers is because we could keep their habitat sec...