A ‘problem’ Royal Bengal tiger has been taken into control from the Patalchuli Community Forest in Geruwa Rural Municipality-4, located within the buffer zone of Bardiya National Park.

Technicians from Bardiya National Park, the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), and the Nepali Army, deployed for security, jointly captured the tiger.

Locals had been living in fear for over a month as the tiger entered the village and preyed on cows, oxen, and goats directly from their sheds. Ashok Ram, chief warden of the national park, said it took 19 days to capture the tiger.

“Because a ‘problem’ tiger accustomed to eating livestock could attack humans, a search had been ongoing there for 19 days,” he said. “After locating the tiger through camera trapping, we controlled it by darting it.”

Tigers are referred to as “problem tigers” when a lack of prey causes them to venture out, eat livestock, and attack humans.

Ajit Tumbahangphe, Bardiya programme chief of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, said three ‘problem’ tigers have been captured from this area over the past two years. “We captured two last year and one this year,” he said. “Over the past eight years, six ‘problem’ tigers have been taken into control in Bardiya.”

Among them, three tigers are currently kept at Rammapur in the park, and two are in enclosures at Thakurdwara. About seven months ago, one tiger died of natural causes in Rammapur. According to the latest census, the tiger population in Bardiya has dropped to 112, down from 125 in 2022.