I joined him and other WWF officials – as well as a representative of Whiskas cat food (more of cat food later) – on a field trip to south-west Nepal to see just how this turnaround has been achieved. With things looking pretty bleak for tigers elsewhere in Asia, what’s being done in this corner of Nepal could serve as both inspiration and model for the fight to save them, Chapagain believes. In and around Bardia National Park, where Bhadai Tharu lives, the number of Bengal tigers is estimated to have doubled in four years (from 18 to 37) thanks to a nexus of environmental, community and security initiatives. This is the policy being pursued on the ground in Nepal – in a joint effort instigated by the Nepalese government and the WWF – and it is paying dividends. Mobilise the people and there will be a tipping point.
I stay at home and look after the children animal pak 44 The key, Chapagain told me, ‘is to garner support from our societies’ and not to leave it all to the conservationists.
