Villagers in Nepal’s Kanchenjunga region were baffled-- wild animals were preying on their livestock but they had ruled out leopards. Finally, a camera trap caught a dhole (Cuon alpinus) also known as the Asiatic Wild Dog at an altitude of 3,800m. Subsequent scatology study concluded that 22% of the dhole’s excrement contained remains of goats and juvenile cattle, confirming that they were the culprits. This study, led by researcher Ambika Prasad Khatiwada, was the first to research the habitat and habits of wild dogs in Nepal. Since then, other studies have identified the presence of the animal in the southern plains of Chitwan and Parsa. The research concluded that Nepal’s wild dogs are seriously endangered, and only about 200 remain. With habitat loss, wild dogs increasingly venture near human settlements where they are trapped and killed. Despite being on the brink of extinction in the country, the conservation of tigers, rhinos, wild elephants, snow leopards and other charismatic species <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/2-nepal-tiger-reserves-awarded">get more priority in Nepal</a>. This is why the wild tiger population in Nepal has rebounded with total numbers tripling in the past 13 years. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/wildlife-people-coexistence-in-nepal-national-park">Wildlife-people coexistence in Nepal national park</a>, Kunda Dixit But such extensive focus on iconic wild mammals has meant that other wildlife like wild dogs, pangolins, porcupines, snakes and others have been largely ignored and do not get as much targeted protection. The Cuon alpinus is native to Asia, is brown with large rounded ears and a black muzzle, and a drooping black-tipped tail. Wild dogs have a lifespan of about 16 years and can grow up to 17 inches in height and up to a metre in length. They move in packs of five to ten and can swim, usually living in caves or under rocky outcrops near a water source. They collaborate to chase and attack their prey, able to hunt animals ten times their size. Other predators like tigers and leopards do not attack wild dogs, deterred by their packs. Dholes are found across 11 Asian countries, including Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. India currently has the largest population of wild dogs at 2,500. Dholes are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list of endangered species, meaning the animals are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but may become in the near future. They are similarly included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and currently updated data confirms that this species is critically endangered or rare. “Because critically endangered and rare species are at risk of extinction, their conservation must be done expeditiously,” says dhole researcher Ambika Prasad Khatiwada. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/champions-of-nepals-conservation-movement/">Champions of Nepal's conservation movement</a>, Lisa Choegyal  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230725070740_9efd2f0d926e43eef4732c1f020c98228354a5365616dddc13965f4d7ef2d0eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230725070740_9efd2f0d926e43eef4732c1f020c98228354a5365616dddc13965f4d7ef2d0eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="502" loading="lazy" alt="Dhole NT 2"></figure>  In Nepal, Dhole sightings have occurred up to 4,350m above sea level in the Rara and Khaptad National Parks, the Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve in the western Himalaya, the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in the east and Chitwan and Bardia National Parks as well as Parsa and Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserves in the Tarai. Wild dogs are sighted in several districts outside protected areas, but populations are low and threatened by low prey base, poisoning and habitat loss. Indeed, an increase in the number of tigers has meant that wild dogs are in direct competition with dholes which share their prey base. “An in-depth study is required to find out if it is this scarcity that has drawn them out in the Parsa region,” says Khatiwada. That wild dogs have begun to attack and feed on cattle seems to support the theory that dwindling prey has drawn the previously elusive species nearer to human habitats, and locals have retaliated by poisoning the prey to protect livestock. Because the species move across the Nepal-India border, there must be international efforts in its conservation, says Martin Gilbert, a veterinarian at Cornell University conducting conservation research in Nepal. In 2019, dhole experts, researchers, and scientists from across the world came together at the first International Dhole Conference in Thailand. The following conference was held in Chitwan in 2023 and saw the participation of 42 experts from 14 countries, including 11 members of the IUCN Dhole Working Group. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal/">Is wildlife conservation a victim of its own success in Nepal?</a>, Mukesh Pokhrel Khatiwada is a member of the IUCN group and represents Nepal in the study of wild dogs, and says the conference has renewed momentum for wild dog conservation. So far none of the wild dog range countries have formulated a Conservation Action Plan. As important as the government’s role is to the protection of dholes, experts believe that local efforts will be much more effective than national laws. Khatiwada explains: ”In other countries, the danger to wild dogs stems from habitat loss, but in Nepal, it comes directly from humans.” Indeed, while there is less <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-needs-wildlife-friendly-highways-wt3rbx2v">human-wildlife conflict </a>because dholes move within protected areas in the Tarai, the same cannot be said for mountain regions of Nepal and Bhutan where the animals are hunted, trapped, and poisoned for preying on livestock. According to Nepal’s National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973, those who kill, injure or otherwise harm protected wildlife are punishable by imprisoned for 6 months to 1 year, a fine ranging from Rs20,000-Rs50,000 or both. As with snow leopard and tiger conservation, financial compensation can reduce the hostility of local farmers towards wild dogs. Says Khatiwada: “Some compensation is already provided to those who lose livestock to protected animals provided the livestock are insured. This provision must be amended to provide people with full compensation when there are attacks on livestock so farmers do not poison endangered wild dogs." Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lesser-known-endangered-species">Lesser known endangered species</a>, Nepali Times

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Nepal’s wild dogs also need to be saved

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61099c7e80680e056eaejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="956"/>Wild dogs get a bad press in Nepal, almost as bad as hyenas. The fact that the Nepali word for the wild dog (bwanso) is also used to refer to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/crying-wolf/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wolf</a> is part of the problemBwanso is used to describe a ruthless or evil human being. However, the Asiatic Wild Dog (also called dhole in India) is a wildlife species on the endangered list, because of habitat loss and a reduction in primary prey like sambar and chital deer. This has led the dogs to attack livestock, so that farmers are now poisoning prey carcass to kill dogs.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35155&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A dog with altitude,</a> Sonam Choeyki Lama<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6106#.XbF7XJIzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Khumbu's wild dogs</a>, Navin Singh Khadka<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a610c9c7e80680e056eafjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="358"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a610d9c7e80680e056eb0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="358"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a610f9c7e80680e056eb1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="358"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The wild dog belongs to the same family as the domestic dog, Canidae, and like the wolf is a pack-forming animal. It has a rather gory way of hunting — it tears away bits of the flesh of its prey during a chase before finally killing it.This could be one reason the wild dog has a PR issue with the public in rural Nepal. In any case, there has been a sharp decline in the population of wild dogs in the densely populated midhills, while they are still present in the Tarai national parks.Like most canine species, the Asiatic Wild Dog is known to form social packs of up to 35 individuals, providing them a distinct advantage over larger carnivores like the leopard or tiger, which have superior hunting skills but stalk prey alone.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35036&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Creatures of culture</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35062&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In an animal farm,</a> EditorialThe Gurung people in the Sikles region of the Annapurna Conservation Area compare the bwanso to an untamed wind — it can be anywhere at any time, but is difficult to control. Elders who used to see wild dogs in abundance today report very few sightings, including in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Chitwan National Park, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, Parsa National Park and Tinjure Milke Jaljale.It is estimated that only 500 individuals survive, and even this figure could be inflated. Globally the species is estimated to number only up to 2,200, and negative public perception means it is difficult to mount a campaign to conserve the wild dog. The only way to save the animal from extinction therefore, is to reintroduce it into protected areas where it was once found in abundance.Yadav Ghimirey is a conservation biologist at Friends of Nature.pantherapardusypg@gmail.com

Saving Nepal’s last wild dogs

At the stroke of the midnight hour, it finally came to something everyone in Nepal’s oldest and biggest party had been dreading — a split.
Not that this was anything new. The Nepali Congress (NC) had splintered twice before and the main protagonist both times was five-time prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. After the GenZ uprising and being physically mauled and his house looted and set on fire on 9 September Deuba had said he was stepping aside, but it seems old ambitions die hard.
The showdown between the Gagan Thapa-Bishow Prakash Sharma camp and Deuba came to a head on Wednesday as the establishment leadership decided to suspend Thapa, Sharma, and Farmullah Mansoor for five years to punish them for daring to challenge the leadership and hold a special general convention.&nbsp;
Bhrikuti Mandap in the centre of Kathmandu is the venue for trade exhibitions, but this week it was where an exhibition of everything that is wrong with Nepali politics was on full display — lack of internal party democracy and an unaccountable gerontocracy clinging on to power.&nbsp;
Thapa and Sharma had gathered the support of 62% of the NC membership at their convention and chose Gagan Thapa as the new party leader and proposed him as a prime ministerial candidate after the 5 March election.
Deuba’s allies had refused to attend or endorse the special general convention, and were adamant about holding a general convention to choose a new party head after the election. Thapa, Sharma and their supporters argued that the party faced ignominious defeat in the polls if Deuba insisted on being prime minister again.
The events of September 2025 have cast a long shadow over Nepali politics, with many new parties and alliances pledging to represent the aspirations of the GenZ movement. However, that realisation does not seem to have dawned on the tried, tested and failed leadership of the NC, UML and the NCP where the party leaders have held on to power by sidelining all rivals. &nbsp;
Thapa and Sharma were NC general secretaries held multiple rounds of discussions to convince Deuba to accept their eight-point demand that for the party’s and the country’s sake his time was up, and he should cut and cut cleanly. Despite having already handed over the party leadership to Purna Bahadur Khadka in September, Deuba refused to step down.&nbsp;
‘What demands has the Nepali Congress been unable to reconcile that it is headed for a split? There is no ideological dispute, just a proposal to make it easier to go for the election,’ noted journalist and author Narayan Wagle. ‘If those who have been in politics for so many years cannot reach an agreement, what have they learned in life and what hope is there for the country?’
Gagan Thapa was elected unopposed as the new party president on Thursday midnight, with Sharma and Pushpa Bhusal appointed vice-presidents. Thapa has said backroom talks are still ongoing though mediators, but for all intents and purposes the split seems irreconcilable.&nbsp;
The million dollar question now is: who gets to be the real Nepali Congress? Who gets the NC’s tree election symbol at the polls?
Both the Thapa and Deuba factions have written to the Election Commission (EC) laying claim to the party and its symbol. Whatever the EC decides, with less than two months to go for the polls, the dispute over its legitimacy will almost certainly have to be decided in the courts.
Deuba and his counterpart K P Oli in the UML have been unwilling or unable to fathom the level of outrage that young Nepalis feel about their parties. They have shown an inability to heed the call for institutional overhaul within parties and in Nepal’s political culture post-September. Second generation leaders within those parties who have grown old waiting for reform, seem to have better internalised the need for internal restructuring.&nbsp;
Oli has managed to hold on to power after displaying increasing authoritarianism within his UML, while Deuba has shown an unwillingness to bow out of leadership with grace. Both have squandered away their legacy.
For Gagan Thapa, the events of Thursday was a culmination of his long-standing claim for leadership change within the NC coupled with a compulsion to address the demands of the youth movement to maximise gains for his party this election. Just like Deuba, Thapa’s house was also looted and torched during the September protests.
Thapa told Onlinekhabar on Thursday: “Our belief was that we cannot go into elections under the present circumstances under [Sher Bahadur Deuba’s] leadership and with him as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. We would lose.”
The special general convention has taken further steps for reform, endorsing amendments to the party statue, which has set term limits for key leadership positions, including a one-term limit for party president, two-term limit for prime minister, three for a ministerial position, and four terms for a directly elected member of Parliament. Meanwhile, party members are only allowed to become lawmakers through the Proportional Representation system for one term.&nbsp;
If Thapa’s leadership holds legitimacy, this new chapter for the NC might come as a welcome change to young Nepalis who have been calling for leadership overhaul and internal party reforms within the establishment parties. But it may also come at the cost of the NC’s core base. It remains to be seen which side tips the scale at the polls.&nbsp;
The NC’s infighting and institutional shake-up has also posed fresh concerns about how it will affect the election schedule just as it looked as though all the mainstream political parties were finally on board and preparing for the polls. With voting barely weeks away, Nepal’s political parties are still too busy cleaning up their own house to give too much time to work on their platforms, agendas and serious campaigning
Historically, political break-ups and make-ups in Nepal are not set in stone. Even the newest alliance between Rabi Lamichhane’s RSP and Kulman Ghising’s UNP did not even last 12 days. &nbsp;Balen Shah is set to resign from his mayor position in the next and has gotten into the thick of election preparation with the RSP. His next step will be to choose which constituency he is going to contest from.
Meanwhile, in the light of a new day, the two NC factions may still decide that breaking up is hard to do when they are so close to elections, and the political stakes are so high.&nbsp;

Grand split in Nepal’s grand old party

Only a handful of people who witnessed the 1934 megaquake as children are still alive. And the memories of 2015 are fading fast.&nbsp;
We were shaken, but have not stirred into action. We have not even started preparing to be prepared for the inevitable, for it is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.&nbsp;
Thursday 15 January was National Earthquake Safety Day commemorating the 1934 disaster that killed 10,000 people in Kathmandu Valley at a time when its population was barely 100,000.
Nepal is in an active seismic zone, and a really big one is overdue in the seismic gap in western Nepal where there has not been a megaquake for 500 years. The 7.8M quake in 2015 did not completely release the tectonic stress below Central Nepal.
An 8M+ earthquake epicentred in western Nepal will be even more violent than the 2015 one in Kathmandu and will be powerful enough to cause destruction across northern India as well.&nbsp;
We Nepalis are resilient, but we are also complacent and fatalistic. How else does one explain the unsafe and unplanned building construction in Kathmandu, Pokhara and other towns despite frequent reminders of what quakes can do?&nbsp;
Most designs are ad hoc and follow no engineering logic. Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) is now widespread across the country since such structures mostly withstood the 2015 event. But structural engineers say most concrete buildings are substandard, and can be death traps. Also, the country lacks equipment and training for search and rescue in cement houses.&nbsp;
FIRE HAZARD
If an earthquake struck Kathmandu on a windy winter evening, there is the added risk of fires from gas cylinders in collapsed buildings spreading across the densely packed city core. Fire trucks will not be able to reach those areas because the streets will be blocked.
Seismic risk is now amplified by climate breakdown. Nepal now needs to factor in the co-hazard of massive avalanches and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) triggered by future earthquakes. There are 41 potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the region, and 27 of them are in Tibet feeding rivers that flow into Nepal. A megaquake there could cause multiple simultaneous GLOFs.&nbsp;
If the 2015 earthquake had not happened on a Saturday, tens of thousands of children could have been killed in the 7,000 schools that were flattened. More than 2,500 government buildings came down, and would have killed and trapped many if it had not been a weekend.
Schools and health facilities retrofitted before the disaster were unscathed, and served as shelters for survivors. Chhatrapati Free Clinic (CFC) was reinforced three years before the earthquake for Rs5.2 million, and with support from National Society of Earthquake Technology (NSET), 800 community members were trained in search and rescue.
Bhuwaneswori Secondary School in Bhaktapur and Bal Bikas Secondary School in Kathmandu both survived 2015 because they had been retrofitted. Singha Darbar, the Supreme Court and the Department of Roads buildings were also made seismic resistant after 2015 quake, but the arson attacks on 9 September gutted them.
While many private residential homes built after 2015 continue to flout building codes, municipalities are now stricter. New schools and colleges, hospitals and high rises now have to meet stringent requirements for seismic resistance.
Nepal is a hotspot for many types of disasters — earthquakes, floods, droughts, glacial outbursts, wildfires. These are not ‘natural’ disasters, they are human induced. Earthquakes do not kill people, poorly-built buildings do. Climate breakdown is anthropogenic.&nbsp;
Waiting for a disaster to strike means we have waited too long. Search and rescue readiness are well and good, but much more important is preparedness — seismic resistance structures especially of public buildings, strict zoning to establish open spaces, pre-positioning supplies and simulated drills.
We do not know how much time we have before the next one. But it is not too late to start preparing. &nbsp;
Sonia Awale

Shaken, but not stirred

The series <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/looking-good-by-doing-good">Nepal Made</a> profiles world-class Nepali products and the people behind them. Deepak Acharya was born and raised in Simara, before his uncle took him to Pokhara when he was only in sixth grade. After class, he helped sell jackets and outdoor gear at his uncle's Lakeside store. &nbsp; Twenty-two years later, &nbsp;Acharya is still selling jackets. Not international brands like he used to, but products of his own outdoor gear company, DOLPO.&nbsp; Acharya and his brother-in-law, Krishna Ammai, started making and selling jackets and gear for international companies out of Thamel. After losing his business partner in the 2015 earthquake, he was done selling imported items. He launched his own line of outerwear, named after Nepal’s rugged and remote district, known for its stunning arid landscape. The careful selection of the name DOLPO paid off. It took off, providing a high-quality, affordable Nepal-made alternative to foreign companies.&nbsp; “A lot of work went into choosing the name Dolpo,” says Acharya, who considered what came into people’s minds when they heard the name of a place with double-O sound. “I wanted a brand that local customers would instantly relate to toughness and mountains.” The elegant logo reflects this as well, made up of two overlapping rounded triangles denoting mountains with a third peak in the middle. Underneath is ‘DOLPO’ in upper case sans serif.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260116120148_968d9354094049265372d851d0e44e16ae4fc86b5631481e365e6e977f13d37d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260116120148_968d9354094049265372d851d0e44e16ae4fc86b5631481e365e6e977f13d37d" data-rendition-name="original" width="854" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Dolpo NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DOLPO</figcaption> </figure>  RIGHT QUALITY, RIGHT PRICE “Our philosophy is Right quality, Right price,” says co-founder Deepak Acharya, adding with a smile that the pricing strategy of a particular competitor has made business easy: “The employees at North Face may sell North Face, but they wear Dolpo.” The rebranding was so successful that Acharya regrets not launching it sooner. The reason for the success is that the outdoor gear market in Nepal has taken off with more and more domestic tourists trekking in the high mountains to share their adventures on social media.&nbsp; Nepalis seem to be consciously choosing sustainable, Nepal made products of international quality. Acharya says: “Of course, there will always be a demographic that only wears North Face, or Sonam. But we have the right design, right price philosophy.”&nbsp; DOLPO uses fabric and material mainly from Japan, and adheres to strict quality control. The reversible down jackets, windcheaters, shorts, fleece-lined pants, trekking trousers, backpacks, and polo shirts can be bought through its website, or two exclusive flagship stores in Sorakhutte and Thamel Chok. “After the rebrand, we slowly made a digital platform, marketed online, and worked with a delivery company to get items directly to buyers,” says Acharya. “We have no brokers or middlemen to keep prices low for the consumer.” DOLPO is a family business with Acharya’s mother and sister also involved, and nephew Nishant Ammai driving digital sales. Acharya points out that there is a lot of business opportunity in Nepal, as there are too many low-quality products being sold at too high a price. &nbsp;“The market is begging for an auto-correction,” he says. For Nepal’s pessimistic youth who are fleeing the country, Acharya urges patience: “The younger generation wants shortcuts. The mindset is to set up a venture and in three years they will be set for life. But this is not how success works.” “Choose a field, put in ten years of effort, really learn about it, and then you will see the vast possibility present in Nepal,” he continues.&nbsp; Last month, the DOLPO logo was seen on the jerseys of the Biratnagar Kings in NPL 2. The company made hats, jackets, and jerseys for star-studded cricket players including Lokesh Bam, Sandeep Lamichhane, Faf Du Plessis, and Martin Guptill. The Kings finished second in the group, and although Acharya is a football fan, he is happy to contribute to the rise of cricket in Nepal. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Proud to wear DOLPO

Illegal wildlife trade is the fourth most lucrative trafficking crime after drugs, humans, and weapons. Most wildlife ends up in China and Southeast Asia to be used mainly in traditional medicine or as bushmeat. Nepal is both the source and transit for wildlife trafficking, and while the authorities have been successful in protecting flagship mammals like tigers, rhinos, and leopards, the country still serves as a major transit point for less popular wildlife. Despite strict laws against wildlife crimes members of indigenous communities are easily tempted by organised transboundary criminals. They are recruited to poach endangered animals and plants, and end up in jail, while ring leaders are rarely caught.&nbsp; Many are not hardened criminals, just regular folk like Bishnu Adhikari, 30, who served time in Kathmandu’s Central Jail. He had gone with a friend to sell pangolin scales without knowing it was illegal and that the punishment was so harsh. Bikash Chhetri, a Grade 11 student, was riding a motorcycle with college friends when they were intercepted by the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). Chhetri says he had no idea his &nbsp;friend was carrying the contraband in his bag. Both Adhikari and Chettri served five years in jail. But most people from Nepal’s indigenous communities are often unaware of the protected status or importance of the wildlife they were recruited to smuggle, handle, or transport. “Most of indigenous people involved in wildlife trade in Nepal are not criminals, they are poor and live near protected areas are simply trying to support their families, and mostly it is opportunistic killing,” says wildlife researcher Kumar Paudel of Greenhood Nepal. “Often they are exploited by higher-ups in the ladder of organised crime.” Paudel filed a petition at the Supreme Court in 2018, and the Supreme Court five years later ordered the government to implement the law in a full, fair, and consistent manner. One of the indigenous communities is the semi-nomadic Chepang who have a long tradition of eating fruit bats. Dibesh Karmacharya of the Center of Molecular Dynamics Nepal in Kathmandu has been looking into new diseases for over a decade and a half, and this community in Makwanpur next to Chitwan National Park was selected. “Bats are known to carry viruses and bacteria, which are not harmful to them, but when humans get exposed the microbes can mutate and become pathogens with high transmissibility,” explains Karmacharya, who found that many Chepang had been imprisoned for poaching.&nbsp; “Indigenous communities are often disenfranchised and at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, and need some kind of income,” says Karmacharya. “They are hunter-gatherers and have knowledge of the land as well as wildlife, so they get recruited by wildlife traffickers often getting caught, and not those who hire them.” CLIMATE FACTOR Global warming has meant that vectors that carry pathogens, as well as animals, are also moving to higher altitudes. As temperature rises, glaciers melt, and previously barren slopes have vegetation. Many mammals, such as common leopards, which are found in the foothills are moving up the mountains to share the habitat of snow leopards. Tigers have also been known to move out of Tarai national parks to seek cooler climes in the Mahabharata Range. Besides the risk of being caught, indigenous communities also are exposed to disease when they handle wildlife and harvest organs. In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was speculation that the virus had jumped from pangolins to humans, which has since been disproven. Even so, pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal. The scales of the anteater are thought to have medical properties and are used in traditional Chinese medicine in China, as well as eaten as a delicacy in parts of Asia. Tulshi Laxmi Suwal of the Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF), who did her PhD on pangolins from Taiwan, says there is a link between climate, increased human-wildlife contact, and emerging diseases. “Climate change is directly affecting their food and habitat,” explains Suwal. “Pangolins need a lot of water and if they don’t get it ectoparasites under their scales might be easily released to their surroundings. But water is becoming scarcer with climate breakdown.”&nbsp; Researcher Kumar Paudel says law enforcement must be driven not so much by the total number of traffickers arrested, but by the goal of discouraging people from participating in the trade. This means fair and accountable implementation of the law so that indigenous people are not disproportionately impacted.&nbsp; Some ring leaders involved in tiger and rhino poaching have been arrested, but a handful of them staged jailbreaks during the September GenZ protests and are again at large — raising the risk that poaching may increase.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260114100128_e7a6891c2980aa132dd3e4644b752008bd367dd6e868790d4dbae5aa626a2764.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260114100128_e7a6891c2980aa132dd3e4644b752008bd367dd6e868790d4dbae5aa626a2764" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="rhino"> <figcaption>Two greater one-horned rhinoceroses at Chitwan National Park in Nepal. Photo: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS</figcaption> </figure>  “Investigation must move to the upper echelons of the trade,” says Paudel. “And indigenous people need alternative livelihoods and education so they are not easily recruited to hunt down wildlife.”&nbsp; The solution may lie in small, local incentives that can help communities realise the importance of conservation while also empowering them, socially and economically. One such example is the Pangolin Trail in Bagh Bhairav Community Forest in Kirtipur near Kathmandu. After their study found the community forest to be a habitat for pangolins and endangered bird species, SMCRF built a trekking trail which has since been handed over to the local community which can get income from visitor fees. The local government has expanded the trail, added an information center, and runs clean-up campaigns. This gave the local Tamang community of 100 households a sense of ownership and agency. Local villagers have been trained to become citizen scientists, and help in recording pangolin behaviour. One of them is Sun Laxmi Pakhrin, who is not formally educated, but works in pangolin protection using GPS tracking systems and camera traps.&nbsp; A community previously notorious for theft, drug trafficking and wildlife poaching is now reformed. Families are also involved in small businesses such as poultry. Suwal says: “Women in indigenous communities are now in decision-making roles and the guardians of nature and wildlife.” With contribution from Qian Sun, Global Voices.

wild-dogs

Nepal’s wild dogs also need to be saved

Saving Nepal’s last wild dogs

Grand split in Nepal’s grand old party

Shaken, but not stirred

Proud to wear DOLPO

Indigenous people pay price for poaching