Since a conservation summit in St Petersburg in 2010, Nepal more than doubled its tiger population. Now, big cats regularly come into conflict with humans. Zoos cost too much, so Kathmandu wants to give some to worthy governments<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his two-day state visit to Nepal in April, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, announced that Kathmandu is to give two elephants to Doha under a memorandum of understanding between the two nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nepal\u2019s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC<\/a>), however, wanted the country to engage in \u2018tiger diplomacy\u2019 instead. DNPWC director-general Sindhu Dhungana told RT: \u201cIf any country wishes to obtain a tiger from us, we can provide one as part of tiger diplomacy. Wildlife diplomacy is practiced worldwide, and I believe it will aid tiger conservation efforts in Nepal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n With an ever-increasing number of tigers proliferating, his department faces public pressure. \u201cTigers frequently encroach on human settlements and pose a threat to humans,\u201d<\/em> he said. \u201cPeople often urge us to keep \u2018our\u2019 tigers confined to the jungle.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a 2022 Tiger Census, Nepal is home to 355 tigers, an increase from 121 in 2009. The goal set at the 2010 St Petersburg Tiger Summit<\/a> was to double the tiger population, a target the country had surpassed in 2018, with 235.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nepal has found that some countries have specific preferences in wildlife. Indonesia wants deer, China wants one-horned rhinos, and Qatar wants the red panda. The DNPWC has set up a task force to figure this out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2021 census of one-horned rhinos in Nepal came to 752. Nepal gave two pairs of one-horned rhinoceros<\/a> to China in 2018, and the country has a history of providing these rhinos to Germany, Austria, the UK and the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n