30 Nov, Ratnanagar, Chitwan: The census of rare Royal Bengal tiger will start today in both Nepal and India simultaneously. The same camera trapping method will be used in the census wherein cameras traps are laid along the tiger’s path wherein to capture their images as they move, said the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation.

Around 150 cameras, tamed elephants, and around 200 human manpower will be used in this process, said Deputy Director General at the Department and the programme coordinator Gopal Prasad Bhattarai.

Simultaneous census will help avoid the same tiger which may cross over from one side to the other during the count being counted twice, as its movement will be captured by another camera on the other side, he said.

According to 2013 census, the number of Royal Bengal tigers in Nepal was 198, of which 120 in Chitwan National Park, 50 in Bardiya National Park, 17 in Shuklaphanta National Park, seven in Parsa National Park, and four in Banke National Park. RSS