30 tigers dead in seven years

CHITWAN, May 6: 30 tigers have died in and around the Chitwan National Park (CNP) during the past seven years. The deaths were recorded since the fiscal year 2072/73 B.S.

According to the CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, 14 of the dead tigers were male and 8 were female. Identities of eight tigers are unknown, he informed.

Among those found dead, eight tigers died due to aging, eight in in-fighting, five during treatment, one due to illness, three due to poison in food, and the reasons for the death of five are unidentified.

In the fiscal year 2072/73, one tiger was found dead, while the number was four in the fiscal year 2073/74, six in 2074/75, and eight in 2075/76.

Similarly, three were found dead in the fiscal year 2076/77, two in 2077/78, and six in 2078/79. However, there have been no dead tigers found in the current fiscal year.

The tiger count has increased at CNP lately. According to Tiwari, death incidents of tigers have gone up due to the in-fighting of tigers in the search for food with the rise in their numbers.

According to the CNP data, 96 wild animals have been found dead as of mid-April this year, while 96 have been rescued so far.