What is it about?
Attacks by wildlife on people were reported, with an increasing trend. Among the major attackers were rhinos, tigers, sloth bears, elephants, wild boars, leopards, gaur bisons, sambar deers and marsh crocodiles, and the majority of attacks occurred outside the park, and within 1 km of the park boundary.
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Why is it important?
Attacks on people by wildlife in the vicinity of protected areas, where resource use by people and wildlife overlaps, is a major conservation challenge to the authorities, which supports large populations of species that are commonly involved in human attacks. People live in the park’s surroundings and depend on forest resources, subsistence agriculture, livestock farming and fishing for their livelihoods, and the number of life-threatening encounters between people and wild animals is on the increase. Thus, it is urgent to find the alternative options for reducing wildlife damages.
Perspectives
Wildlife attacks on people are influenced by the social and biophysical factors. People’s livelihood patterns depend on forest resources, subsistence agriculture, livestock farming and fishing make them vulnerable to attack of life-threatening encounters between people and wild animals is on the increase. Among the major attackers like rhinos and tigers, who are most endangered species, were reported frequently involved in attacks in human dominated landscapes within 1 km of the park boundary. Most victims were illiterate and lacked awareness of animal behaviour. Those who had a basic awareness of wildlife habits were able to avoid attacks or sustained only minor injuries. The important recommendations to emerge from the study include educating local people living in high-risk areas about animal behaviour; regulating and limiting movement and activities by people in buffer zone forests; and establishing well-equipped participatory emergency rescue teams to provide early warnings of imminent danger.
Dr. Thakur Silwal
Tribhuvan University/ Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: When, where and whom: assessing wildlife attacks on people in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, Oryx, May 2016, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0030605315001489.
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