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Conservation success leaves Nepal at a loss for dealing with ‘problem tigers’

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KATHMANDU — Nepal’s government remains undecided on how to manage tigers captured after attacking or killing humans, even as different stakeholders make varied suggestions on dealing with the urgent issue of these so-called problem animals. The rising incidence of human-tiger conflict is a direct consequence of Nepal’s stunning success in conserving tigers (Panthera tigris), which has seen the population of the endangered big cat nearly triple since 2010. With that increase, the number of tigers that authorities have determined must be removed from their habitat for human safety has also gone up. Today, there are 18 of these apex predators in captivity, stretching the capacity of the government to feed and accommodate them. “The government hasn’t taken any new decision so far on how to manage the captive tigers,” Bed Kumar Dhakal, a spokesperson for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told Mongabay. Last year, the country’s environment minister proposed, controversially, that sport hunters be allowed to kill “problem tigers,” thereby addressing human-tiger conflict while also generating revenue that can be invested back into conservation. Other government officials have called for gifting the animals to zoos abroad, while NGOs have lobbied for the establishment of rescue centers at the provincial level. Some academics have suggested simply shooting tigers deemed dangerous to human life. “After a lot of backlash over the proposal to allow sport hunting of problem tigers, the minister hasn’t raised the proposal again,” a wildlife department official familiar with the development told Mongabay, asking not to…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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