Nepal has tripled its Bengal tiger population from 121 to 355 animals in twelve years, becoming the only one of 13 TX2 countries to more than triple its stock rather than merely double it. Most striking: even as three times more tigers now inhabit Nepal's national parks than in 2010, the number of fatal human-tiger conflicts has actually declined sharply. In December 2025, Nepal launched its fifth national tiger census with over 1,100 camera traps. Results will be published July 29, 2026—International Tiger Day.
The TX2 Pledge: From 3,200 to Recovery
At the first global Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, Nepal and twelve other tiger nations committed in November 2010 to double their populations by 2022. The TX2 target—"Tigers Times Two"—responded to a catastrophic decline: the global tiger population fell from an estimated 100,000 at the start of the 20th century to roughly 3,200. Poaching and habitat loss had pushed the species to the brink of extinction.
Nepal faced steep odds. Small, densely populated, and poor, the country's five national parks sat directly adjacent to farmland and villages. In 2010, according to the WWF, just 121 Bengal tigers lived free in Chitwan, Bardia, Parsa, Shuklaphanta, and Banke. Nepal promised to reach at least 250 by 2022.
The Methods Behind Success
The turnaround rested on linking enforcement with community engagement. Nepal's army and ranger teams partnered with Community Based Anti-Poaching Units (CBAPUs), a model introduced in Bardia in 2009. Local youth from villages bordering protected areas receive training and salaries to conduct joint patrols with soldiers and park staff. According to authorities, no tiger was poached in the decade following the program's launch.
Economic incentives reinforced protection efforts. Farmers losing crops or livestock to tigers received state compensation. Biogas plants and alternative income sources reduced villages' dependence on timber harvesting inside parks. Tiger tourism—bringing foreign currency to the region—gave local communities a direct stake in tiger survival. Wildlife corridors between Nepal's national parks and the adjacent Bihari region in India expanded available habitat.
Successive censuses confirmed progress: 198 tigers in 2013, 235 in 2018, 355 by 2022. Distribution across all five protected areas improved: Chitwan led with 128, followed by Bardia with 125, Parsa with 41, Shuklaphanta with 36, and Banke with 25. Nepal alone tripled rather than merely doubled.
More Tigers, Fewer Deaths
That more tigers need not mean more human casualties is borne out by recent Chitwan data. In Kumroj, a densely settled buffer zone between park and villages, fatal attacks plummeted from 14 deaths in fiscal year 2021/22 to just one in 2024/25, the Kathmandu Post reported in July 2025. Behavioral training for residents, denser boundary fencing, and improved early warning systems all contributed. Conservation officials estimate Nepal's reserves and corridors could sustainably support up to 500 tigers.
A Conservation Exemplar
Nepal is not alone in its success. India, home to roughly 75 percent of all wild tigers globally, grew its tiger population from about 1,706 in 2010 to 3,682 by 2022, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority's fourth national census. Worldwide, the Global Tiger Forum counted 5,574 wild tigers in 2023—nearly double the historic low of 3,200 circa 2010.
The pattern mirrors other large-cat comebacks. The Iberian lynx, with only 94 individuals in two remnant Andalusian populations in 2002, was Europe's most endangered cat. Spanish and Portuguese programs raised the population to 2,401 by 2024. The IUCN downlisted the species from Endangered to Vulnerable in June 2024—a rare milestone in conservation: large cats almost never recover enough to warrant reclassification.
July 29: New Counts on International Tiger Day
Nepal's fifth tiger census, launched in December 2025, deployed over 1,100 camera traps across 8,400 square kilometers of protected habitat through mid-March 2026. Wildlife organizations and the government expect figures to have risen again: every census to date has set a new record. If recent growth rates persist, Nepal could report over 400 wild tigers for the first time. The world will know on July 29, International Tiger Day.