Wildlife attacks kill 11 in Bardiya in under a year

Wildlife attacks have claimed 11 lives in Nepal’s Bardiya district between mid-July last year and June 9 this year, according to the Division Forest Office. Leopards were responsible for eight of these deaths, while tigers caused two and an elephant one.

Beyond fatalities, the district recorded multiple injuries from wildlife encounters. Senior Forest Officer Ram Gopal Chaudhary reported 15 people injured during the same period, with 13 hurt by leopards and two by rhinoceroses. This fiscal year alone has seen 18 injuries, predominantly from leopards.

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During the current fiscal year, 18 people have been injured in wildlife attacks, including 17 by leopards and one by a tiger.

The figures represent a sharp rise from the previous fiscal year, which saw six deaths attributed to wildlife. Despite efforts by a joint technical team to capture six leopards identified as problematic, fear remains widespread in several municipalities. Leopards continue to enter human settlements, pushing into areas like Gulariya, Rajapur, Madhuwan, and Barbardiya.

Conservation officials attribute this trend to changes in predator dynamics within protected areas. As tiger populations rise in Bardiya National Park and India’s Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, increased competition within forest habitats forces leopards into community forests and villages. Ajit Tumbahamphe of the National Trust for Nature Conservation explained that leopards are drawn to settlements by the easy availability of prey, such as livestock, and to avoid tigers within the national park.

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Leopards move into buffer zones and villages to avoid tigers inside the national park. They often feed on goats and other livestock kept by villagers. When such prey is unavailable, they may attack people.