Both tigers and leopard are endangered species on the Indian sub-Continent. Please read our BLOG, which documents our trek into the jungles of Nepal during October, 2012. The NEPAL TIGER PROJECT began in April 2011 when founder John Brooks, a retired federal agent and wildlife biologist, traveled to Nepal with Anna Bach, a practitioner of Tibetan medicine, to support her in the effort to locate some specimen of the Arura tree. Anna had also mentioned how, contrary to the assessment of established conservation groups, the locals claimed that tigers were present in the region. John and Anna, accompanied by local Sherpa guides, walked two days from a remote bus stop into the Okhaldhunga District of Nepal’s Himalayan Mountains. Indeed, while local villagers had not seen tigers, they described significant evidence that the reclusive predators had been in the area during the previous two years. Two nights after their arrival, a villager reported that a tiger attacked and killed her newborn calf. Although this was a sad event for the woman and her family, it was a great gift to know a wild tiger population may still exist within the area. In the fall of 2012, John returned to Nepal with the goal of confirming the presence of tigers in the Okhaldhunga District. Villagers were interviewed, camera "traps" were placed, and s**t samples and paw prints were documented. The evidence thus collected offered a strong case for the presence of tigers in the area. John and his team were also able to photographically document the presence of Indian leopards. Although the tigers eluded the camera traps, the team was very excited to record eyewitness accounts of their presence and look forward to returning on location to provide conclusive proof to the world of a newly discovered tiger population. As one villager put it: “The tiger can see you and will show himself when he is ready.” John believes that capturing the tiger on camera is just a matter of time. The goal of the Nepal Tiger Project is to return to Nepal in 2013 to conduct a 12 to 18 month study to determine the local population size of both tigers and leopards. In addition, the Project will be working with the local villagers and schools to educate and assist them in techniques for living harmoniously with an established population of predatory cats. Among the many villagers contacted in 2012, the response to the program was overwhelmingly positive. For more information, contact us at [email protected]
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Note: The founder of The Nepal Tiger Project, John Brooks, worked for the federal government of the United States for 30 years in the field of wildlife conservation. He has held the positions of Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Inspector, and Special Agent. He is pursuing his love for wildlife conservation by establishing The Nepal Tiger Project.
