An adult male tiger from Bardiya National Park (BNP) was killed in a road accident along the East-West highway in Bardiya district on Wednesday evening.

 According to Ramesh Thapa, chief conservation officer at BNP, the endangered wild tiger was hit by a vehicle travelling from the West to East at Khairbattichok, around 10 kilometers from the Karnali Bridge in Chisapani. A team from BNP is already at the site. The vehicle that hit the tiger is yet to be confirmed, said Thapa, adding, “Investigating will be carried out to find whether the vehicle was over speeding or it was an accident hit.”

Over speed and foggy weather could be the reason behind the accident, he said.  Bardia is home to 50 tigers out of total 198 tigers counted in the last census in 2013. Chitwan National Park has the highest 120 tigers while the other tiger habitats Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Banke National Park and Parsa Wildlife Reserve have recorded 17, 4 and 7 respectively.

As per the commitment to the Global Tiger Recovery Plan in 2010, Nepal has committed to double its tiger population from 121 in 2010 to more than 250 by 2022.