Tiger census has begun in the Shuklaphanta National Park (SNP) and its surroundings from Sunday.

The count will be carried out inside the SNP, its buffer zone, Laljhadi Corridor, Bramhadev Corridor and Jogbudha area of Dadeldhura district.

“A team of 90 people will be mobilised in 11 groups to count the tigers. The count will be carried out at four places inside the park, four national forests under the District Forest Office and at three places in the Chure region(Jogbudha area),” said Gopal Bahadur Ghimire, the officiating chief conservation officer of the SNP.

Park officials said they will also use camera trapping technology to help with the census. The camera installation work will start on Tuesday.  A total of 260 camera traps will be installed inside the park, Laljhadi, Bramhadev and Jogbudha grids. ‘

“In each grid, a couple of cameras will be installed for 15 days,” said Anil Prasai, chief of the Kanchanpur-based National Trust for Nature Conservation.

The 2013 tiger census had put the number of tigers in the SNP at seventeen.

Wildlife experts expect to see a rise in tiger population, given the high availability of prey animals like swamp deer in the park.

 “With high number of deer population, the park’s tigers have no trouble finding food. The tiger numbers must be thriving in Shuklaphanta,” said Ghimire.