Collaborative research and conservation reveal a larger tiger population in Nepal

Through a collaborative approach and sharing of data, new Bengal tiger individuals were detected in the Terai Arc Landscape of Nepal in Bardia and Chitwan National Park’s community buffer zones. The Living with Tigers Project conducted camera trapping research in 2017–2018, finding nine new individuals in total. In Bardia, five new individuals were detected, one male, three females and one of unknown sex. In Chitwan, we detected four new individuals, one male and three females. These new individuals were discovered from surveying the community buffer zone habitats. The findings have implications for human-wildlife conflict, as both the tiger and human population continues to increase in the Terai, and with local people depend heavily on forest resources resulting in frequent incidents of conflict. Our findings highlight the pressing need to survey areas outside protected areas and develop and implement strategies promoting coexistence.