Illegal Hunting of Prey Species in the Northern Section of Bardia National Park, Nepal: Implications for Carnivore Conservation

Environments 2016, 3(4), 32; doi:10.3390/environments3040032

Author

Babu Ram Bhattarai ^1,2,* , Wendy Wright ²

 and Ambika Pd. Khatiwada ³

¹

Department of National Parks & Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu 860, Nepal

²

Faculty of Science and Technology, Federation University, Gippsland 3842, VIC, Australia

³

National Trust for Nature Conservation-Bardia Conservation Programme, Thakurdwara 3712, Nepal

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editors: Uttam Babu Shrestha, Binod Pokharel, Achyut Aryal, Basanta Raj Adhikari, Loknath Adhikari and Suman Aryal

Received: 1 November 2016 / Revised: 14 November 2016 / Accepted: 21 November 2016 / Published: 29 November 2016

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mountains in the Changing World)

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Abstract 

We interviewed 48 people from communities around Bardia National Park in Nepal, including ex-hunters and protected area management professionals. The purpose of the interviews was to understand the motivations for, and the nature of, illegal hunting of prey species of iconic predators—tigers and leopards—in the northern section of the park. Participants reported that hunting of prey species occurs mostly in spring and autumn and is less common during the summer. In the past, hunting was primarily for the purposes of obtaining meat for household consumption. Since the introduction of a road network in the region, opportunities to sell wild meat at ad hoc “highway markets” have developed. The purported medicinal properties of wild meat was also cited as a driver for illegal hunting. Guns (mostly made locally, by hand) and dogs were reported to be commonly used. Protected area managers indicated that illegal hunting problems in the study area are associated with a lack of presence of park authorities, remoteness and underdevelopment and poverty of the community. Our study suggested that skills development training for local community members might reduce dependency of local people on wild meat, for both household consumption and for income, thereby reducing illegal hunting. View Full-Text

Keywords: Bardia;  carnivore;  illegal hunting;  prey;  wild meat

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