Tiger census in the Shuklaphanta–Laljhadi–Jogbuda area will begin after the House of Representatives elections slated for March 5.

A meeting of the National Tiger Survey field taskforce on Tuesday decided to postpone the count as park staff will be deployed for election duty. Senior Conservation Officer Chandra Shekhar Chaudhary said the survey was deferred due to a likely manpower shortage.

Under the national census, automatic cameras will be installed in Shuklaphanta National Park, Laljhadi–Mohana Protected Area and Jogbuda in Dadeldhura. The area has been divided into 260 grids of 2x2 kilometres each. A pair of cameras will be installed in each grid after identifying potential tiger habitats.

In the 2022 census, cameras were installed in the same areas. Tigers were recorded in Laljhadi and Jogbuda. The survey reported 36 adult tigers in the area, including 16 females and 12 males captured on camera, with eight identified through analysis.

Shuklaphanta National Park conducts tiger counts annually in areas at risk of poaching. Last year’s survey put the tiger population at 43.