<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01739c7e80680e0a362djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Renuka Sunar was killed in a tiger attack on 10 March earlier this year. All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>1 0 March 2020. It was an ordinary day for Renuka Sunar collecting fodder in a forest near her home in Kathariya village. Suddenly, a tiger leaped out of the undergrowth and dragged her screaming and kicking. Neighbours heard her cries, and rushed out to help.“When we heard the screaming we ran to where the sound was coming from, but she was nowhere to be found,” recalls mother-in-law Kaushila Sunar. “Later the police found her, but she was dead.”At 60, Kaushila has been living in Kathariya for more than four decades but has never before experienced such increased frequency of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/close-encounters-with-tigers-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tiger attacks</a>. There was another close shave last month.“I suddenly saw a tiger read to pounce on my grandchild, I screamed and managed to scare it away. They are attacking us in our homes following the smell of livestock, the fear keeps me awake all night,” she adds.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01779c7e80680e0a362ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption>Kaushila Sunar wasn't able to reach her daughter-in-law Renuka on time to save her.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d017a9c7e80680e0a362fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption>Sunar now has to raise her young grandchildren as well as protect the goats all by herself.</figcaption></figure>Kaushila is a widow and her only source of livelihood is now at risk due to the fear of tigers. She now has to raise her young grandchildren as well as protect the goats all by herself. But since the attack on Renuka, she has been afraid to venture into the jungle to collect fodder for the goats.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d017e9c7e80680e0a3630jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Kathariya village in Bardia.</figcaption></figure>Four months before Renuka was killed, Dinesh Tharu of the nearby village of Madhuban who had gone into the forest to collect mushrooms was also attacked and taken by a tiger. His brother-in-law Ramesh who went looking for him suffered the same fate.Ramita Chaudhari lost both her husband and brother on the same day due to the tiger attack. Dinesh, a construction worker in Kathmandu, and Ramita were married for 10 years and have two daughters. The family is landless.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01829c7e80680e0a3631jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Ramita Chaudhari lost both her husband and brother to a tiger attack.</figcaption></figure>“He took us to Kathmandu for a visit once, and wanted to enroll our children in a school there but now after his death I cannot even afford to send them to a government school here,” says Ramita whose older daughter is in Grade 2.She adds: “I’d never known of a tiger attack before. It took both my husband and my brother together and left my family destitute. I wish someone could help me educate my daughters.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01859c7e80680e0a3632jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Ramita Chaudhari with her young daughters.</figcaption></figure>Dinesh and Ramesh had married each other’s sisters, so like Ramita, 25-year-old Puja also lost both her husband and brother on the same day. The couple has two daughters aged three and one, and the family relied on Ramesh's income as a construction worker.After the deaths, Puja took training in making potato chips but because of the Covid-19 lockdowns, she is yet to start a business. “Work is difficult to come by. But I want to send my children to school no matter how difficult.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01899c7e80680e0a3633jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Puja Tharu also lost both her husband and brother to a tiger attack. She struggles to send her children to school</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d018d9c7e80680e0a3634jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01929c7e80680e0a3635jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">All these three attacks took place along the Khata Wildlife Corridor that links Nepal’s Bardia National Park with India’s Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. The corridor is used by endangered mammals like tigers, elephants and rhinos, and the wildlife in the two-country sanctuary frequently move back and forth across the border.There were a total of 87 tigers in Bardia National Park and buffer zone in the 2018 census. Another 28 big cats were recorded in Katarniyaghat in India. Similarly, a 2021 census registered a total of 120 wild elephants in Bardia and Katarniyaghat. There are also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/where-have-bardias-rhinos-gone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">four rhinos translocated to Bardia</a> from Chitwan which have moved over to the Indian side.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01959c7e80680e0a3636jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>A route frequented by tigers in the Khata Wildlife Corridor.</figcaption></figure>“We have installed a camera trap in the Khata corridor to monitor wildlife movement,” says Rabin Kadaria of National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) Bardia. “The corridor has made mating between the wildlife across the border possible, resulting in new offspring, and preventing genetic degradation, which means biological diversification and healthier newborns.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01999c7e80680e0a3637jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption>Bardia National Park office</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d019d9c7e80680e0a3638jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption>Rabin Kadaria of National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) Bardia</figcaption></figure>The Khata Corridor actually lies outside Bardia National Park and beyond its buffer zone, but is a protected area under the Forest Act 1993 but Nepal’s law doesn’t recognise it as a separate entity. Presently, it is managed by the Division Forest Office, and local communities have established a conservation committee for the corridor.But the corridor is suffering from encroachment and human disturbance. It has been bifurcated by the Postal Highway, which has disrupted the north-south movement of wildlife. Though a 45m-wide wildlife bridge has been proposed in Madhuban to allow animals to cross, construction work has not started yet.Khata Corridor has contributed to wildlife conservation, but increased frequency of animal attacks have added to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">conservation challenges </a>of endangered species in Nepal.In the past two years, 23 people (20 in Bardia, two in Banke and one in Kailali districts) have lost their lives to tiger attack, according to Bardia National Park. Of the 20 in Bardia, seven were from the Khata Corridor."The human-tiger contact has become a bigger challenge than poaching. Conservation programs should look into reducing such conflicts," adds Kadaria of the NTNC Bardia.Moreover, indigenous people and local communities rely on the forest for firewood, fodder and food, and it is impossible to prohibit them from entering the forest."Indigenous peoples have a right to forest food in the national parks, they should not be deprived of it. It is unacceptable that 23 people have been killed by wildlife in the past three years,” says Bharti Pathak of the Federation of Community Forestry Users.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01a19c7e80680e0a3639jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The Chief Conservation Officer of Bardia National Park Bishnu Prasad Shrestha agrees, and is seeking federal government support for local communities with alternative livelihood options instead of barring them from the forest."Conservation efforts will be incomplete and unsuccessful unless <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-unsung-heroes-of-conservation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">people living near the protected areas</a> take ownership for their protection," he says.Nepal is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/fixing-what-aint-broke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an international model for wildlife conservation</a>. It is the first tiger range country to meet the target of doubling its big cat population and is well on its way to achieving its commitment to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-many-tigers-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increase that number</a> to 250 by 2022, up from 121 in 2009. But this also means an increase in the frequency of tiger attacks, especially along the Khata Corridor.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01a49c7e80680e0a363ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01a79c7e80680e0a363bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">In fact one-third of all wildlife attacks in the Banke-Bardia area have occurred in the municipality alongside the corridor, increasing from only three between 1993-2013 to seven since 2019.In the 2021 <a href="https://bit.ly/2UA9fx8">journal article</a>, 'Complex Consequences of Conservation Success: Emerging Human-Tiger Conflict in Nepal', conservationists have warned that the current level of human-wildlife contact in the Bardia-Banke complex will pose a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/villagers-step-up-to-protect-nepals-tigers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">serious risk to tiger conservation </a>if not addressed on time.However, <a href="https://bit.ly/3zl8dEF">another article</a> published in the journal Oryx in 2016, 'Are Corridor Good for Tiger But Bad for People? An assessment of the Khata Corridor in Low Land Nepal', concluded that wildlife route was not any more problematic for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rise-in-tiger-numbers-make-leopards-raid-livestock/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">locals and their livestock </a>than in other national park buffer zones in Nepal.But the recent attacks and deaths in the corridor have raised questions locally about the modality of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unsung-heroes-of-nepals-tiger-recovery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tiger conservation</a>. Kaushila Sunar, who lost her daughter-in-law to a tiger attack in March, says, "The government is only concerned about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/">saving tigers</a>. No one cares how we survive."(Translated by Sonia Awale from the Nepali language original in Himal Khabar.)<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01aa9c7e80680e0a363cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><h2>Corridors of (nature's) power</h2>If not for the pandemic and successive lockdowns, Bardia National Park this time of the year would be crowded with national and international visitors. The homestays along the Khata Wildlife Corridor that connects wilderness areas in India and Nepal used to be packed.But in the absence of tourists, wild animals have reclaimed nature and their space. Villagers have reported coming across a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-wild-elephants-are-also-on-the-move/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">large herd of elephants on the move</a> and some have even sighted tigers in the wildlife corridor.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01ad9c7e80680e0a363djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="537">Salik Ram Chaudhary of the Khata Wildlife Corridor Homestay Management Committee grew up roaming these forests near his home. Every season, he used to guide tourists and organise safaris and wildlife excursions in Bardia National Park.On 10 June, Chaudhary was on his way into the forest when he saw a herd of about 40 elephants, ranging from calves to adults, on the move just half a kilometre from the village.<iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsalikram.chaudhary.71%2Fvideos%2F492020552133087%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>“To say it was a sight to behold is an understatement — it is extremely rare to see such a large herd of elephants this close to human settlements,” he said.Every year during September and October, Bardia elephants travel through the Shiva Community Forest in Madhuban Municipality to the Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India’s Uttar Pradesh. They return to Nepal when the monsoon approaches. Ancestors of these great herds have been taking this annual migratory route for tens of thousands of years.But because of lack of human movement, the herd this year did not bother to stay within the jungle corridor, and instead marched right through the village, lumbering peacefully past farms and stopping to graze along the way.<iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsalikram.chaudhary.71%2Fvideos%2F471588867509589%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>The elephants, however, were not the only wildlife sightings that Chaudhary had. On 28 May, the wildlife guide came across a tiger 400m away in the outskirts of the village.“I threw caution to the winds and followed the tiger from a distance, taking photographs. The tiger knew I was there, but left me alone — both of us were at peace with the world,” says Chaudhary, who had never before seen a big cat from up close despite being a wildlife tracker and guide.Half a kilometre away from the Dalla Homestay village, the tiger stopped at a watering hole in the buffer zone of Bardia National Park. It drank deeply.During the hot summers, the water sources within the Bardia National Park that fill the natural watering holes dry up, forcing many wild animals into rivers and ponds near towns and villages.Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-tiger-conservation-too-successful/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">conservation success</a> has also led to overcrowding of big mammals in protected areas and national parks, in turn resulting in scarcity of prey populations. This has compelled tigers and elephants to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-humans-can-live-with-wild-elephants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">venture into human settlement</a>.There has been an increase in human-animal confrontation. This is more prevalent in Khata Wildlife Corridor (read the report above) compared to other parts of western Nepal.Conservation models need to include strategies to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-nepals-conservation-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> reduce human-animal conflict</a> and local governments should introduce alternative livelihood options for the communities living near the protected areas to reduce their dependence on the forest. Similarly, infrastructure, new and those being upgraded need to include <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-needs-wildlife-friendly-highways/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildlife passes to reduce road kill.</a>On the flipside, the proximity of endangered species to human settlements has made frequent sightings quite common, boosting local eco-tourism and providing indigenous communities engaged in homestay business with extra income.This was possible with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/empowering-nepalis-during-covid-19-crisis/">combined conservation effort</a> of communities, local governments and environmentalists, and there are lessons to be learned.Says Salik Ram Chaudhary: “As in Bardia, we need to ramp up conservation efforts across Nepal so that we can use the lockdown to share space and live with Nepal’s rich biodiversity.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141148/636d01b19c7e80680e0a363ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="810" height="540">Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-at-forefront-of-saving-tigers/">"</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-at-forefront-of-saving-tigers/">Nepali women at forefront of saving tigers",</a> Kanchan Thapa

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Human-animal interface in Nepal wildlife corridor

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc859c7e80680e08031ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1523" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: Sravasti Ghosh Dastidar</figcaption></figure>A tourist trip to Chitwan National Park usually includes interaction with the Tharu community. But most visitors do not get to see the region’s lesser known indigenous people, the Bote.The Tharu are known for their unique culture and artistic decorations manifested on walls, verandahs and household items. And while the Tharu are known as the people of the forest, the Bote are the river people.They mostly live along the East Rapti and Narayani rivers bordering Chitwan National Park, although there are some Bote settlements in Gorkha, Tanahu and Lamjung. The Bote are one of the least known and dwindling indigenous groups in Nepal. According to the 2011 census, there are only 2,830 speaking the Bot language as a mother tongue.Whereas transmigration of mountain settlers in the 1960s cleared the forests and displaced the Tharu, the expansion of Chitwan’s highway towns and a tourism boom encroached on the habitation of the Bote along the riverbanks. When traditional fishing and foraging of the Bote was restricted after the Chitwan National Park was established, the community moved to agriculture.Lately, they have also adapted to other trades like carpentry, motorcycle repairs and even auto rickshaw driving. However, in a Bote village near Sauraha three or four households still fish among the rhinos and crocodiles at the edge of the Chitwan National Park.Dusk settles stealthily on the banks of the meandering East Rapti which marks the boundary between the Chitwan National Park and the tourist village of Sauraha, semi-deserted these days because of the pandemic.Asian Pied-Hornbills, spotted doves and kingfishers flit from one branch to another of tall sal trees surrounding the tiny village. A group of men loiters around the thatched mud hut of Rishiram Bote (right).Rishiram’s wife and daughters go about the household chores of feeding their pet dogs, hen and goats, sweeping mud floors and washing utensils at the tube well. The boys play football. In between all the activities, everyone keeps looking towards the river expectantly.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc889c7e80680e08031fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="514">The sun is now low in the hazy sky, and in the golden light two small dugouts carved out of simal logs pull up at the bank. Unlike the longer canoes that ferry tourists and forest department personnel, these boats accommodate only two people.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc8a9c7e80680e080320jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1546" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The women and children run towards the canoes with plastic basins and sharp machetes. Rishiram and three fishermen jump off the boats with small handheld fishing nets that are brimming with bighead carps, silver carps, rohu, naini, mrigal, silver fish, catfish and eels.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc8d9c7e80680e080321jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="395" height="300">There are 120 species of fish found in the cool, slow-moving waters of the Rapti. Some of them are big, and there have been catches of up to 10kg. The licensed Bote fishermen are not allowed by the national park to use longer nets which would entangle crocodiles, and also make fishing unsustainable. The Bote fish for their own community, and have to be satisfied with whatever they can haul in their smaller nets.The women unload the fish, weigh and sell them to the men who have gathered to inspect the evening catch. They are regular customers, mostly hotel and restaurant owners from Sauraha who wait around for the boats to return. They can resell the fish at triple the cost price in town. Within minutes, the entire lot is gone. It has been a good day.On other days when there are some unsold, the Bote dry the fish and consume it themselves. The catch varies from day to day, with fewer fish in winter. Rishiram leaves at 6AM when it is still dark, paddling into the thick fog of the Rapti and returning late. The national park rules do not allow them to fish at night, and the Bote existence is hand-to-mouth.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc8e9c7e80680e080322jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="169" height="250"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdc8f9c7e80680e080323jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1546" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdc949c7e80680e080324jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1572" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Living on the edgeThe Bote literally live on the edge – the edge of jungle, and the edge of the rapidly urbanising inner plains of Chitwan Valley. Modernisation has pushed them to adapt to a monetised, mostly tourism dependent economy of the district. And the national park, with its endangered and protected animals, keeps them out. This is life along the periphery of human habitation, and at the fringes of a protected nature reserve.It can be dangerous floating along these crocodile infested waters and the tall grass of the Rapti floodplain which is the favourite habitat of tigers and rhinos. Sometimes, fish-eating gharial crocodiles get entangled in the nets, and although setting them free can be dangerous, the Bote are forbidden from harming the rare reptiles.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdc989c7e80680e080325jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1573" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Gharials, with their long snouts and razor sharp teeth have to be disentangled with great care, and there are always park rangers watching through binoculars from sentry towers along the river. The Park warden has trained them to follow instructions on fishing, the do’s and dont’s. For example, after disentangling them, the gharials have to be taken to the breeding centre at Kasara.The larger mugger crocodiles are even more dangerous, and the Bote have lost friends and family to them. A few months ago, Rishiram’s friend’s body was found 50km downstream from where he was last seen. During the monsoon, the Rapti’s waters rise and the crocodiles come right up to the huts. They are shooed away with sticks, sometimes unsuccessfully.In the misty winter mornings, the tall, thick elephant grass has rhinoceroses, tigers and sometimes even wild elephants, lurking in them. The fishermen and rhinos frequently cross paths. On one such cold morning, Rishiram’s uncle had gone into the forest with his nets, and he saw the rhino too late. It charged, and gored him.Encountering tigers and wild elephants can be a risky affair. Especially if it happens to be Ronaldo, a rogue elephant which keeps himself entertained by entering villages and mauling inhabitants every year. Villagers usually ward off the wild elephants that come in search of food with electrified barbed wire fences.However, the intelligence quotient of elephants is legendary. They know when there is a power cut and listen to the sounds of generators, and vibrations in the wires, to determine when the wires do not carry a current. The villagers then have to resort to lighting fires to keep the animals out, as well as keep themselves warm.Sidelined existenceThe main livelihood of the Bote is fishing, paddling boats, gold-panning, collecting wood, and harvesting elephant grass and edible ferns from the forest. However, since the Chitwan National Park was established, fishing activities have been regulated with strict guidelines. Some now grow crops in their limited land by the river. They also sell chicken, eggs and elephant grass, and buy dal, rice and buffalo meat to supplement their own supply of fish, mutton, chicken and homegrown vegetables.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdc9b9c7e80680e080326jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1017"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>They now have solar-powered lights, but the homes are still plastered with mud and cow dung. The roofing is made from elephant grass, which is harvested once a year in spring when the Park is open for collection, and have to be rethatched annually. Rishiram and his brothers Parshuram, Dipak and Pardeep are the last few members of the Bote community in Sauraha. There are a few more Botes living down the river in Pathiani. Chitwan is, however, dominated by the better-known Tharu who have cleverly showcased their culture to attract tourists.Very few people have heard of the Bote, even in Nepal. Being  more under-served than the Tharu, the Bote and Majhi communities of Chitwan are at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. The Bote language, dress, dances and songs are indigenous, and endangered as the way of life of these people is transformed.The Bote language is Indo-European but does not have a script, and is distinct from the Tharu and other indigenous languages here. The link language with other communities is therefore Nepali, and as children go to school, they are losing touch with their mother tongue.Origin and relocationThere are two possible origins of the name ‘Bote’. Besides fishing, the community was known for laying tree trunks or branches across rivers to build makeshift seasonal bridges to allow people to cross. ‘Bot’ means a tree, and it could be that Nepali speakers started calling them Bote.The other possibility might be that since they did not own land or houses, and took shelter under trees on the waterfront, they  came to be known as Bote, since their existence revolved around the river.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdc9f9c7e80680e080327jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1504" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Many members of the community have moved on from Chitwan in search of greener pastures. The traditional livelihoods are being gradually replaced by agriculture and other trading activities that generate better income. The Chitwan National Park, which restricted their fishing tradition, has given some of them auto-rickshaws under an instalment scheme as an alternative to their traditional lifelihood.But Rishiram’s family has stayed on, and is one of the few that still make a living from fishing. He could not continue his studies as he had to become the provider of the family from a young age. But he encourages his own children to get an education and pursue their dreams.The four children and Parshuram’s two sons want to continue their studies though they are yet unsure of their professional goals. Their school timings do not allow them to go fishing with their fathers, hence their interest in the traditional occupation of their community has waned. The girls go to school where they learn Nepali, English and Mathematics. They also help in the housework. They speak a smattering of Hindi, thanks to watching popular Hindi movies on television.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdca29c7e80680e080328jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1558" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The transformation of Bote lives, their adversities and poverty, have not been able to erode their filial bonds. Community ties are still strong. Bote families find dignity in working together, and they approach life with plenty of smiles and pride in who they are.As with other communities in Nepal, change is rapid and relentless. Literacy and income generation can help Rishiram Bote and others lift themselves from their subsistence lifestyles without erasing too much of their precious culture, heritage. Programs to uplift their socio-economic status involving tourism and conservation could combine their traditions with modernity, and help preserve what is best in the Bote way of life.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdca69c7e80680e080329jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1391" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Distance from Kathmandu to Chitwan: 175 kmFly to Chitwan: Daily flights from Pokhra and Kathmandu to Bharatpur airport, NepalFlight duration: 20 minsBy road: Prithvi Highway from Kathmandu, turn south at MuglingDriving time: 4-5 hoursBest time to go: October to MarchWildlife viewing: April-MayJungle Tours: Half-day, Full-Day Jeep Safaris, Overnight homestays in the jungle, Jungle treksBote village: Your local guide can take you (no scheduled tours)Tharu cultural village tour: 3 hours any day, any seasonSauraha and Pathiani: Auto-rickshaws available on hire<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110918110/636bdcaa9c7e80680e08032ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1523" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Sravasti Ghosh Dastidar is a photographer, travel and lifestyle journalist. She has a content writing firm Sravasti's and <a href="https://sravastis.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://sravastis.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1604192000570000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEwF63inGYoIyzYQ86L-Rp1vRFRIw">an e-commerce website</a> for eco-friendly greeting cards and pens.

Chitwan’s Bote people in a changing world

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636babe99c7e80680e077f03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1050" height="756"/>6 January, 2004. It was a foggy and cold winter morning in the western Tarai. As secretary of the Gauri Community Forest User Group, Bhadai Tharu was escorting a group of 15 villagers into the woods. They are allowed into the protected forest once a year to collect thatch and fodder.Tharu, now 51, was also responsible for the management of the forests that formed a vital biodiversity corridor for wildlife of the<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/bardiya-beginnings-Lisa-Choegyal,1085" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/bardiya-beginnings-Lisa-Choegyal,1085&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1593667729890000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG5HS_bcD3YQWX6sCM0smVUf7xR9A"> Bardia National Park.</a>What started out as a perfectly normal day soon turned into a nightmare. The sun had burnt off the fog by noon, and Tharu and his colleagues heard a growl from the undergrowth of the sal hardwood forest.Before he knew what was happening, in a flash of orange the tigress leaped out of the bushes and went straight for Tharu’s face, swiping him with her mighty paw. The blow knocked him down, and he fell unconscious on the ground.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It's a jungle out there</a>, Kunda Dixit<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/tiger-selfie-is-highest-ever-sighting-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tiger selfie is highest-ever sighting in Nepal</a>, Mukesh PokhrelHis petrified team fled the scene, and the tigress dug her claws into Tharu’s face, gouging out his left eye. She was pinning him down with her forelegs when Tharu came to. Instinctively, he punched the big cat on her face, and the tiger slipped away, disappearing back into the jungle.He could feel warm blood pouring down his face, and stumbled back to the river crying out for help. Eventually, some nearby grass cutters came to his rescue, and he was rushed to hospital in Nepalganj where he spent a month recovering.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636babec9c7e80680e077f04jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125">“I would have died if I had run”Krishna Shah was guiding a Dutch tourist on a day-long walking safari through the Bardia National Park in February 2016. They were tracking footprints and fresh dung which meant there were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-many-rhinos-is-enough-rhinos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rhinos</a> nearby. Sure enough, they found the rhinos were grazing and the tourist was busy clicking away, when there was a terrific roar.The tiger appeared out of nowhere between the two, who both ran for their lives.  “After running for 20m I looked back to find no one behind me. I had lost my guest, and was worried the tiger had killed the Dutchman,” he recalls.With another guide, he circled back to the spot to look for his guest, who called down from a tree he had climbed to escape. What Shah did not know was that the tiger was waiting in ambush, and pounced on him from behind trying to get his jaws around his neck.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-many-tigers-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How many tigers in Nepal?</a>, Kunda Dixit<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/champions-of-nepals-conservation-movement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Champions of Nepal's conservation movement</a>, Lisa Choegyal“Had I chosen to run, the tiger would have definitely caught and killed me, I had no option but to fight back. It was a kill or be killed situation,” Shah, 38, remembers. “The tiger reared up on its hind legs to attack, and I poked it with a stick. It scratched me with its claws and pushed me to the ground.”The other guide then hit the tiger from behind with a tree branch, so the tiger decided he’d had enough and ran off. The group was rescued by a National Park <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/how-humans-can-live-with-wild-elephants%20,4179" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">elephant</a>, and Shah was lucky to escape with only scratches.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636babef9c7e80680e077f05jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1125" height="1500">Knocked unconsciousSundarlal Chaudhari’s life has revolved around his cattle that he grazes every day in the grasslands at the edge of the Bardia National Park. That day in February 2004 had been like every other, and as the winter sun started to set Chaudhari was walking home with 40 cattle from the Kailasi Community Forest, on the fringes of the Park.He did a swift mental count and realised one of his calf was missing. With three other herders, he went into the forest to find it, and spotted a tiger had half-eaten the calf. As Chaudhari got closer, the tiger attacked. His back and hands were mauled by the tiger’s fearful fangs. His companions shouted and yelled, and drove the tiger away. Chaudhari had already lost consciousness, and was rushed to hospital where he was lucky to make a full recovery.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636babf29c7e80680e077f06jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="1352">“The water buffaloes saved me” Last year, 67-year-old Mayaram Khanal from Geruwa Rural Municipality in Bardia was grazing his buffaloes near the National Park. Suddenly, a tiger attacked Khanal hurling him about 10m away. It then leaped down to finish him off when, incredibly, Khanal’s two water buffaloes came to his rescue. They swung their formidable horns at the tiger, chasing it away and saving Khanal’s life. The buffaloes are now treated like heroes in the village.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Is wildlife conservation a victim of its own success in Nepal?</a>, Mukesh PokhrelPost-scriptIn all of these close encounters with tigers, the lives of the people who survived went through a transformation.When Bhadai Tharu lost his eye, he was angry at the tiger making him disabled, and was determined to take revenge. “It was fate, but I thought if I saw that tiger again, I would kill it,” Tharu remembers thinking. “I was also angry at the people for not coming to my rescue earlier. But as my wounds healed, my anger diminished.”Bhadai Tharu is now a tiger conservationist, seeing the forest habitat as a place where animals and people have to co-exist. “Tigers are vanishing as their<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nature-without-borders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nature-without-borders/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1593667729890000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEmja4W4JWuYu58vtHEOsu_sruO7A"> habitats</a> shrink, and when the tiger attacked me, it was just doing so to protect itself from danger,” he says.Today, Tharu trains locals in conservation practices, and provides educational material to local schools. He has also persuaded many poachers and smugglers to abandon their profession. They threatened to shoot him, but he seems to have lost all fear. He has even created inspection patrols to curb smuggling of tiger parts.It was all because of his near-death experience. “If I had not been attacked by that tiger, I would not be saving tigers. I came to understand them better and it became my duty to save them.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141132/636babf59c7e80680e077f07jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1050" height="722">Having worked in indentured servitude as a kamaiya for much of his life, he also gained a newfound respect and self-confidence after the incident. “I lost an eye, but this does not worry me. I found a new path in life and gained respect,” says Tharu, who is determined to continue his conservation activities.He has received many national awards and the internationally-renowned Abraham Conservation Award for his efforts. In 2010, he was even paid a visit by Leonardo DiCaprio whose foundation supports tigers conservation in Nepal. After their chat, DiCaprio took off his shades and gifted it to Tharu, who still treasures it. Villagers have persuaded him to stay on as secretary of the Gauri Forest User Group.Krishna Shah is still an active safari guide. He can now tell what kind of tigers to avoid during jungle walks: old tigers, females with cubs, and tigers who cannot find prey because of injuries.Sundarlal Chaudhari still grazes cattle in the same forest where he was attacked despite the danger. “I can’t keep them tied up, and there is nowhere else to go,” he says. Last week, a buffalo calf belonging to his daughter-in-law was killed by a tiger.Mayaram Khanal is recuperating at home, and the Bardiya National Park paid his hospital bills. But the debt he owes the buffaloes that saved his life is too great to pay back.

Close encounters with tigers in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4e6c9c7e80680e04fcb5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="790"/><figcaption>Photo: DIVISION FOREST OFFICE TANAHU</figcaption></figure>Wildlife-human conflict is intensifying in Nepal, but while in the mountains, it is due to increased forest cover, in the Tarai, human encroachment on natural habitats have led to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/more-rhinos-means-more-encounter,4045" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more encounters between wild animals and villagers</a>.Confusion about who is in charge of conservation work in Nepal’s new federal structure has added to this problem. The Division Forest Offices are now under provincial governments, but the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (NPWC)  Department is controlled by the federal government in Kathmandu.“Even asking for a dart gun is complicated, we have to go through the DFO in the district to the provincial government and then to the NPWC in Kathmandu,” says Kedar Baral of the Division Forest Office in Tanahu.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lesser-known-endangered-species/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lesser known endangered species</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/ever-gone-wildlife-trekking-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ever gone wildlife trekking in Nepal</a>, Lisa ChoegyalRecently, a four-year-old was attacked by a leopard in the Bhanu village of Tanahu. The DFO requested the Department of Forest in Kathmandu which instructed the NPWC to inform the Gandaki Province authorities to send a team. Personnel reached the village, but only four days later.Leopard attacks are becoming increasingly common with the spread of community forests, and out-migration has allowed vegetation to cover fallow farmland.With nearly one-third of its population having left for the cities or gone abroad for work, Tanahu district is at high risk of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-humans-can-live-with-wild-elephants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wildlife attacks</a>.In April, 9-year-old Pushpa Adhikari of Bhakundothok village was killed in a leopard  attack. Last year, 10-year-old Amirt Gurung and 4-year-old Ranjita Lamsal were mauled and killed in a neighbouring village. And just last year, four children were killed by leopards in Tanahu alone.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In conservation, Nepal is not out of the woods yet</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/more-rhinos-means-more-encounter,4045" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More rhinos means more encounters</a>, Alex Dudley The NPWC Department says Tanahu, Lamjung, Kaski, Syangja, Arghakhanchi and Kavre, with their thick community forests have the most human fatalities due to wildlife encounters. But because the Regional Forest Directorate, which used to collate data on wildlife attacks, has been abolished under the new federal set up, and no new agency has taken over the job, integrated figures for wildlife encounters are not available.However, just in the last five years, 41 people have lost their lives in three districts: Arghakhanchi, Tanahu and Baitadi. Elsewhere in the country, 49 have been killed in the past three years in national parks and buffer zones alone – 14 of them children, and mostly by leopards. There are no records of livestock killed, or of crops destroyed by wild animals.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-many-tigers-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How many tigers in Nepal</a>, Kunda Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's a jungle out there</a>, Kunda Dixit“Since there is no fencing on national parks and community forests, we cannot control the wildlife wandering into villages or travelling along their migratory routes, and this has led to human-animal conflict,” admits Man Bahadur Khadka, head of the NPWC Department in Kathmandu.District and park officials say they do not have the required manpower to deal with wildlife encounters outside protected areas, either for fencing, darting or rescue of animals that have strayed into human settlements.The limited human resources available is concentrated in national parks, whereas most incidents happen outside them. For example, the Nepal Army has over 8,000 soldiers deployed to guard the country’s 12 national parks and hunting reserves.With the new federal structure, local government are under public pressure to respond to increased wildlife attacks. The temptation is to restrict the movement of wildlife even more, making them even more aggressive.“My constituents come to me every day complaining that rhinos and other wildlife have destroyed their crops, we hand out some compensation, but it is never enough,” says Mayor Dambar GC of Triveni Municipality in Nawalparasi who has put up a Rs700,000 fence. Neighbouring Kawasoti Muncipality has also built a 17km wall at a cost of Rs15 million to keep wildlife out.

Is wildlife conservation a victim of its own success in Nepal?

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Human-animal interface in Nepal wildlife corridor

Chitwan’s Bote people in a changing world

Close encounters with tigers in Nepal

Is wildlife conservation a victim of its own success in Nepal?