Parbati Acharya, the senior game scout at Bardiya National Park, comes out from the storeroom carrying around 15 kg of buffalo meat wrapped in a red plastic bag.

She’s taking the meat for one of the two tigers that she cares for inside the national park.

For the past two years, Acharya has been caring for two tigers at the rescue centre under the Rammapur sector office of Bardiya National Park.

The male and female tigers, tagged as troublesome, after fatally attacking the locals were brought to the rescue centre and have been under the care of Acharya and her team.

The female tiger was captured and brought to the centre 14 months ago. The wildcat had attacked and killed a woman in Orali of Madhuban Municipality in the district. While the male tiger, that had attacked and killed a local of Geruwa village, has been a resident of the centre for two-and-a-half years.

Thirty-seven-year-old Acharya a resident of Thakurdwara in Thakurbaba Municipality, has been working at various departments of the park for the last 15 years.

Her latest job–taking care of the rescued tigers.

Acharya is in charge of the tigers and their enclosure. Anyone coming to see the tiger including researchers, who come to conduct studies, must wait for Achrarya to gain access to the big cats.

“I have to be on duty 24 hours a day,” she said. “When I get some free time, I go out to visit the forest.”

According to Acharya, the tiger should be fed every other day. In one sitting, one tiger devours around 15 kg of raw meat.

“I bring up to 50-60 kg of meat at one time from Bhuri village which is around 18 km from Rammapur,” said Acharya. “I keep the meat in the freezer and feed the tigers on time.”

Acharya says that the enclosure must be cleaned every 7-10 days.

The enclosure is divided into two parts with iron bars. One of the sections of the enclosure is used as a resting spot for the tiger while the other section is for feeding.

“The tigers, most of the time, take the food from the feeding section and eat in the resting section,” she said. “This makes my job difficult as the resting section, which is bigger in area, takes more time to clean.”

Acharya said that the tigers also do not come out of the section they are staying in if they sense the presence of humans.

“In such case, I have to wait for a long time to finish my job,” said Acharya. “If they refuse to move out, I lock them at the section they are sitting in and clean the other section.”

Acharya says that when she was first stationed at the rescue centre, the roars and growls of the tigers used to scare her.

“Now I’m used to it,” said Acharya. “And since it is a wild animal, it sometimes lunges at me and my team members from inside its enclosure.”

However, Parbati says that she feels fortunate to be in the presence of the majestic animal.

“A lot of people do not get to see tigers despite spending millions of rupees,” she said, “But here I am, taking care of these magnificent creatures.”