School Children in Kalimati Rural Municipality of Salyan have started getting armed escorts from the Nepali Army as tiger terror grips the area. The decision came after a tiger roaming near settlements triggered fear among residents, forcing many families to keep children at home and disrupting classes for weeks in villages bordering forests connected to the Banke National Park.

A tiger, believed to have strayed from the national park, killed three people in December last week, including two residents of Kalimati Rural Municipality and another near the Surkhet border. Since then, according to the locals, the big cat has frequently appeared near farmland and forest edges, creating panic among families whose children walk long distances to reach school.

Following requests from ward 7 office of the rural municipality, army personnel stationed in the national park now accompany students from Swamibas, Haukola, Batule and Ryang village to Nepal Rastriya Secondary School in Ghuiyabari during morning and afternoon hours. Ward chair Mitralal Rijal said the arrangement has helped restore confidence among parents after weeks of fear and uncertainty.

“Children must walk along forest fringes for nearly 90 minutes. After the attacks, parents stopped sending them to school. We sought army support to ensure education was not interrupted,” said the ward chief. According to local residents, the tiger’s frequent roars near settlements have also restricted daily activities, including collecting firewood, grazing livestock and travelling solo.

Rato Basnet, a local of Ryang, said that parents previously escorted children to and from school in groups out of fear. “Since the army started providing security, we no longer need to accompany them every day,” he said, adding that villagers still avoid moving alone.

Locals are in abject terror with the frequent presence of the tiger in the area. According to Polendra Gharti Magar of Haukhola, children have only recently resumed regular attendance after prolonged absence in their regular classes.

Acting on repeated requests from the locals, forest authorities had issued instructions to control or eliminate the tiger after the fatal attacks, but the security personnel have yet to capture the beast. Locals say the uncertainty has prolonged psychological stress. Some residents argue that temporary escorts alone cannot resolve the problem and are calling for long-term measures, including relocation of highly vulnerable settlements.

The rising human-wildlife conflict in buffer zones around protected areas, particularly where expanding tiger populations enter human settlements, has worsened tensions. Conservation successes have increased wildlife numbers, but insufficient mitigation measures, compensation delays and limited awareness programmes have often intensified tensions between communities and conservation authorities.

According to locals, the human-animal conflict has worsened since the establishment of Banke National Park in 2010, as wildlife movement expanded towards nearby villages. Spread across 550 square kilometres with an additional 343 square kilometres in buffer zone, the national park is the home of 25 adult tigers as per the latest count held in 2022.

Narayan Sunar, another local, said dozens of families from various settlements in ward 7 of Kalimati Rural Municipality have already migrated elsewhere over the past decade after repeated encounters with wild animals and persistent insecurity.

While villagers appreciate the army’s immediate support, many fear the arrangement cannot continue indefinitely. Parents demand sustainable solutions to the problem with effective coordination between park authorities, local governments and security agencies.