There are more than 130 tigers living in the forests of Bhutan right now. This is an increase of 27 per cent from 2015 according to the latest National Tiger Survey Report. The survey report was launched today coinciding with Global Tiger day.
According to the report, there is an estimated population of 131 tigers in the country. This is an increase from when only 103 tigers were recorded during the 2014-2015 survey.
According to the report, the significant increase in the number of tigers has been attributed to conservation efforts that include increased law enforcement, community-based tiger conservation programmes, habitat improvement and protection of habitats.
The survey also aimed to identify the major threats to the tiger population.
“The threat to tiger conservation as of now is the human-tiger conflict that is increasing in our country. As humans and wild animals are living parallel to each other, there are a lot of competition with wildlife. One of the rising conflicts is the human-wildlife conflict including poaching,” said Sapana Sunar, Senior Forest Officer of Bhutan Tiger Center.
According to the Nature Conservation Division, the national tiger survey covered 26,075 square kilometres or about 68 per cent of the country for almost a year.
Tigers were mostly found in the Royal Manas Park, Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Park, and the forests in Bumthang, Dagana and Zhemgang.
The report is based on data collection using camera traps, field surveys and data analysis of tiger populations conducted from 2021 to 2022.
The use of camera traps was introduced in 2014, prior to which forest rangers had to track footprints and conduct surveys for data collection.
WWF Bhutan, Bhutan for Life, Bhutan Foundation, Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation and
The United Nations Development Programme Bhutan office supported the national tiger survey.
Tashi Yangden
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
