TIGER POPULATION CLAIMS WEAK Kathmandu, 3 Aug: After the government made a pledge during the global tiger workshop in Kathmandu in 2009 to double the number of tigers from 121 to more than 250 by 2022, the number has been constantly increasing, if government data is to be Believed, Ramesh Prasad Bhusal reports in Reporter. . But the science behind the tally comes into question every year the government announces a new tiger population figure. Many argue that it is unscientific to add up the tiger populations of various national parks where the counting was conducted in different years and cite the total number to show an increased population. From prime ministers to biologists many say that the way the country is celebrating the tiger population success has a very weak basis and the increase in number is due not to conservation efforts but to the expansion of the area where the counting is done and the way the population for different years is added up. “Increase in the population needs improvement in tiger habitats but the government study shows that deforestation is high in the terai region, which is the core habitat of tigers, and there is no reliable study showing that the death rate of wild cats is decreasing; so, claiming an increase in the number of tigers is baseless,” said Dr.Arun Rijal, a noted biologist. And not only scientists but prime ministers also are not convinced that the tiger population has been increasing. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, at a meeting of the National Tiger Conservation Committee a few weeks ago, directed officials at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) to conduct a nationwide survey of tigers as the present data was inconsistent and not very reliable. Not only Bhattarai, who himself has a science background, but also former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal expressed doubts about the government announced in 2010 that the tiger population in the country had increased from 121 to 155. If political bigwigs are unfamiliar with the science behind the tiger census, we can turn to a renowned biologist such as the late Prahlad Yonzon, who criticized the population figure for wild cats three years ago as scientifically incorrect. But despite such a background why is there an announcement every year that the tiger population is increasing rapidly. “We ourselves doubt the population fiures we produce and do not hesitate to say that the present trend of adding all available data from different parks year after year and increasing the numbers is scientifically incorrect,” said Dr. Maheshwor Dhakal, ecologist at DNPWC. Some experts say that the way the country is celebrating success will not impress the international community as the figures claimed are not based on even simple scientific methodology. “To claim an increase in numbers we need to do a survey of the entire tiger range area at the same time and repeat the exercise at regular intervals, but that has not happened,” said Rijal. In 2009, the total tiger population was 121, including those in the Chitwan National Park (Churia range excluded), Bardia and Sukhlaphanta. But in 2010, the Churia range was included and the survey area expanded. The country recorded 155 tigers but the counting was done only in Chitwan National Park. In 2012, a survey was conducted in Bardia National Park and the number was added to the population of 2010 to claim a total population of 176. “If we really want to claim the increment then a nationwide survey should be done at one go and then on a regular basis to make it scientifically correct, but this didn´t happen,” Rijal said, adding, “So it´s just an attempt to justify the huge amount of money invested to save the species and meet the pledged target of doubling the number by 2022.” nnnn ________________________________________