KATHMANDU — Nepal has begun its fifth national tiger census, marking another major step in monitoring and conserving the country’s iconic big cats. The census officially started on Tuesday and will run until mid-March 2026, according to officials.
The nationwide exercise aims not only to count tigers but also to assess habitat quality, prey availability and human pressures in major tiger landscapes. The survey is being coordinated by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in collaboration with the National Trust for Nature Conservation, WWF Nepal, the Zoological Society of London and other partner organisations.
More than 2,300 automated camera traps will be installed across key tiger habitats, including national parks, buffer zones and biological corridors. These cameras will be placed along forest trails, riverbanks and junctions frequently used by tigers. Motion and heat sensors will capture images both day and night, helping researchers identify individual tigers through their unique stripe patterns.
The census covers Nepal’s five major tiger landscapes — Chitwan-Parsa, Bardia-Banke, Shuklaphanta, Laljhadi and surrounding corridors — reflecting the country’s landscape-level conservation approach. Thousands of square kilometres will be surveyed using a grid-based scientific method to ensure accuracy.
Officials say the data will help guide future conservation policies, reduce human–tiger conflict and strengthen habitat management. Nepal has been globally recognised for nearly tripling its tiger population since 2009, and conservationists see the new census as crucial to sustaining that success.
Final results of the census are expected to be made public by May 2026, coinciding with International Tiger Day.