Two people from Gerwani, Bheriganga Municipality-5 of Surkhet, who went to cut grass in the middle area of Bardia National Park, were killed by a tiger attack on Sunday.
A tiger entered Batule, Kalimati Rural Municipality-7 of Salyan early on Wednesday morning before the incident of attacking people in the forest connected to the park. The tiger killed two bulls of the local Tulsi Kumari Gharti and injured one. After leaving the park and entering the tiger settlement, the local residents have become alarmed.
Residents of the central area have become alarmed as the tiger, which is mostly found in the southern part of the park, has started moving towards the north. Prem Bahadur Saru, Ward President of Veriganga Municipality-5, complained that the local residents were panicking after tigers started entering the settlement. "Although one tiger has been controlled by the park, there are many other tigers. People are afraid to go out of the settlement," he said.
48-year-old Ram Bahadur Chand and 67-year-old Kavi Oli of Veriganga Gerwani, who had gone to cut bamboo in the forest in the intermediate area, were killed by a tiger attack on Sunday. Three days after attacking people in the forest, the tiger reached Batule village of Kalikati Rural Municipality of Salyan, which is connected with Gerwani. The same tiger was captured on Wednesday by the park staff, Nepali Army for security, National Nature Conservation Fund staff, police and local residents.
Batule and Gerwani belong to the village bordering the park (intermediate area). The local residents say that the risk of attack has increased as the tiger, which is mostly found in the southern part of the park, has recently moved towards the north. Keshav Chand, a resident of Gerwani, accused the park of neglecting tiger monitoring.
He said, "The number of tigers in the park is high, the risk of coming to the village every time in search of human prey has increased, the park does not seem to increase surveillance to prevent tigers from entering the settlement." The local residents of the intermediate area have submitted a memorandum to the park office, the concerned local government, the administration office of Salyan and Surkhet districts to arrange the security of the wild animals leaving the park.
According to the park office, the problem tiger seized from Salyan is 12 years old. The staff of the park says that since the old and physically disabled tiger cannot hunt in the forest, it searches for people and animals. Which is rescued by the park as a 'problematic tiger' and kept in Banke National Park. In the Bardia National Park, three tigers with similar problems have been kept in the rescue center.
Bishnu Prasad Shrestha, the chief conservator of the park, said that after the attack on the local residents who went to cut grass, the vigilance of the tiger has been increased. "After the said incident, our special team was stationed around Gerwani and searching for tigers," he said, "Tigers that attack people tend to be in that area, because tigers stay in the area where they have been hunted. It was easy to find them after killing two animals in Salyan on Wednesday morning."
The tiger was found resting in a bamboo grove about 200 meters from where the bull was killed. The tiger was taken into custody using a needle to make it sedated.
The park office claimed to have increased surveillance in the upper reaches. "In addition to increasing patrols, we are conducting a behavioral change campaign to take precautions to be safe from wild animal attacks," Chief Conservation Officer Shrestha told Rasas. According to him, no matter where you are in the park area, intermediate area, community forest, wild animal attacks happen during the day time, so if you are alert, you can avoid the attack. The park office has made 13 strategic plans in the current fiscal year to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Chief Conservation Officer Shrestha said that the program will be conducted according to the plan and the damage will be minimized.
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