The practice of killing tigers under various pretexts has grown lately in Nepal. Sometimes, tigers are killed out of anger for attacking people, while in other cases they are targeted in revenge after tigers eat their cattle and goats. The mentality of putting poison in the meat that tigers are likely to eat in an apparent bid to kill them also appears to be growing lately. The tiger is a wild animal that is on the verge of extinction. Like other animals, tigers have a major role to play in sustaining the world's ecological cycle. Whatever plants, animals or insects that have appeared on this earth, all of them must be understood to have been created by nature out of necessity. Therefore, accepting the existence of everyone on this earth is beneficial for all of us. Thus, it is troubling to see the growing instances of killing tigers in recent months.
Tiger experts claim that killing tigers is counter productive for us in different ways. Yet, a tiger's search for food, safe shelter and its activities to fulfill other needs may be a threat to human beings. This should be taken as natural phenomena as animals also have the right to live. If humans start to understand the right to life as their right alone, then it creates injustice. It is an anomaly of this thinking that people are aggressive towards tigers. If a tiger poses a threat to humans or livestock, this needs to be 'managed' properly, but not by resorting to kill them. The best way forward is to take measures to manage human- tiger conflict.
Humans-wildlife conflict eases in Chitwan
It is estimated that there are more than 350 tigers in Nepal. This is a very good number compared to other countries. What is troubling, however, is that more than 50 tigers have been killed on various pretexts in the last five years. The World Tiger Day is celebrated on July 29 every year to contribute to the conservation of tigers. The theme of last year's Tiger Day was 'Human-Tiger Coexistence'. This shows that the conflict between humans and tigers is increasing lately. As an ‘intelligent’ creation of the god, human beings can solve this situation by using management tools.
Among various species of tigers, the Royal Bengal Tiger i.e. Pate Bagh is found only in a few countries. Such tigers are found only in a few countries like Myanmar, India, China, Bhutan, Vietnam, Laos and Nepal. By the year 2022, the number of tigers in the world was 4,500. It is human nature to want more of what one does not have. Therefore, many countries without tigers are looking for an opportunity to be proud by introducing tigers into their countries. This is the main point for Nepal to think about when it comes to tigers. For example, since there are many elephants in Africa, many African countries give gifts of elephants to other countries to improve relations or exchange other rare animals that are not found in their country. Therefore, Nepal can also give away tigers it has as a part of diplomacy. Such a 'tiger diplomacy' may also prove to be a very fruitful strategy for Nepal.
