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The Tiger Population in Nepal Has Nearly Doubled Since 2009 Because Conservation Efforts Work

Nepal is one of 13 tiger-range countries striving to double the world’s tiger population by 2022.
A camera trap captures an image of a tiger in Nepal. Image: DNPWC/WWF Nepal

The number of wild tigers in Nepal has nearly doubled since 2009 to 235, according to the government’s latest survey.

In 2009, there were just 121 tigers in the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), a range that spans India and Nepal.

“This significant increase in Nepal’s tiger population is proof that when we work together, we can save the planet’s wildlife—even species facing extinction,” said actor Leonardo DiCaprio, whose nonprofit has funded tiger conservation in Nepal’s Bardia National Park, said in a press release.

Nepal is one of 13 tiger-range countries striving to double the world’s tiger population by 2022, a goal set at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010. Tiger populations have been declining for the past century, due to habitat destruction and poaching, but have started to grow in recent years thanks to dedicated conservation efforts.

Efforts in Nepal have included building corridors to connect patches of protected habitat, identifying prey species and working to improve their population as well, and incentivizing community surveillance and reporting of poaching activities.

Nepal, home to some of the world’s most endangered species, also celebrated another important conservation milestone this year: on five separate occasions since 2011, the country has gone a full 365 days without a single rhino poaching event.

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