Bardiya National Park on Friday made public its discovery of a tiger carcass inside the park. The incident, park officials say, is indicative of poachers being active in the park area.

The decomposed carcass was found by the park’s patrol team in Lamkali Phant near Pakuwa village in Thakurbaba Municipality Ward No. 7 on Thursday.

The dead tiger is estimated to be about five years.

“Poachers might have set the trap for wild boars and Chitals," said Bishnu Shrestha, the chief conservation officer of the park. "The tiger must have been killed at least a month ago. We are investigating how the poachers managed to set a trap in the park area."

According to Shrestha, the incident site is about five kilometres from the park headquarters in Thakurdwara. A Nepal Army battalion has been stationed for the security of the park.

Locals and conservationists have raised serious concerns about poachers being active in the park and have questioned the park officials on their failure to come across the carcass sooner despite claims of strict patrolling inside the park.

In the count of 2018, there were 87 tigers in the park which is spread across 968 square kilometre. According to officials, the population of tigers in the park could be around 100 now.

Although Nepal, which is among the 12 countries that pledged to double its tiger population between 2009-2022, has made much progress in achieving its goal, poaching remains one of the greatest challenges the country faces in its conservation efforts, say conservationists.