Tigers kill six children in Nepal ahead of global meet
27-10-2009 By Sudeshna Sarkar, SamayLive, India
Kathmandu: A two-year-old girl was killed and partially eaten by a tiger in central Nepal, bringing the toll of children killed to six even as an international summit started in the capital Tuesday bringing experts together to discuss strategies to save the big cats from extinction.
Nasikasthan village in Kavre district, close to capital city Kathmandu, remained dazed in fear and grief as villagers mourned the death of two-year-old Smriti Tamang, who was carried off by a tiger Sunday evening from near her home.
"Our hut is close to a forest," said a stunned Shankar Tamang, the dead child's father. "Around 5.30 in the evening, she was playing nearby with her six-year-old elder sister when the tiger pounced on her and carried her off.
"When my elder daughter came crying and informed my wife, she raised an alarm and the neighbours went rushing to the forest. The noise scared away the beast."
The little girl's body was found in the forest by the villagers.
This year, six young children have been killed by tigers in Kavre with Nasikasthan alone reporting three deaths and an unsuccessful attack.
Panic also reigns in the neighbouring Kushdevi and Mahendrajyoti villages where the big cats have struck, killing two children.
One month ago, a boy, Kumar Lama, who had accompanied his elder sister to the forest to collect firewood, was also attacked by a tiger in Nasikasthan.
However, the boy was saved as his 13-year-old sister Sanjana Lama grappled with the marauder, forcing it to drop its prey and vanish.
Last week, taking note of the attack, a non-governmental organisation that confers bravery awards every year announced Sanjana as the recipient for this year. However, till now, villagers say that the government has not taken any steps to kill or capture the killer tigers.
"Fear reigns in the three villages," Nepali television channel Avenues reported Tuesday. "Petrified villagers bar their doors as soon as the sun goes down and children dare not venture out."
The latest attack comes on the eve of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Tuesday inaugurating the Kathmandu Global Tiger Workshop 2009, a four-day meet being attended by over 200 policy and decision-makers, scientists and conservationists from all the 13 countries in the world where tigers are found in the wild as well as other countries where they are bred commercially and found in captivity.
27-10-2009 By Sudeshna Sarkar, SamayLive, India
Kathmandu: A two-year-old girl was killed and partially eaten by a tiger in central Nepal, bringing the toll of children killed to six even as an international summit started in the capital Tuesday bringing experts together to discuss strategies to save the big cats from extinction.
Nasikasthan village in Kavre district, close to capital city Kathmandu, remained dazed in fear and grief as villagers mourned the death of two-year-old Smriti Tamang, who was carried off by a tiger Sunday evening from near her home.
"Our hut is close to a forest," said a stunned Shankar Tamang, the dead child's father. "Around 5.30 in the evening, she was playing nearby with her six-year-old elder sister when the tiger pounced on her and carried her off.
"When my elder daughter came crying and informed my wife, she raised an alarm and the neighbours went rushing to the forest. The noise scared away the beast."
The little girl's body was found in the forest by the villagers.
This year, six young children have been killed by tigers in Kavre with Nasikasthan alone reporting three deaths and an unsuccessful attack.
Panic also reigns in the neighbouring Kushdevi and Mahendrajyoti villages where the big cats have struck, killing two children.
One month ago, a boy, Kumar Lama, who had accompanied his elder sister to the forest to collect firewood, was also attacked by a tiger in Nasikasthan.
However, the boy was saved as his 13-year-old sister Sanjana Lama grappled with the marauder, forcing it to drop its prey and vanish.
Last week, taking note of the attack, a non-governmental organisation that confers bravery awards every year announced Sanjana as the recipient for this year. However, till now, villagers say that the government has not taken any steps to kill or capture the killer tigers.
"Fear reigns in the three villages," Nepali television channel Avenues reported Tuesday. "Petrified villagers bar their doors as soon as the sun goes down and children dare not venture out."
The latest attack comes on the eve of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Tuesday inaugurating the Kathmandu Global Tiger Workshop 2009, a four-day meet being attended by over 200 policy and decision-makers, scientists and conservationists from all the 13 countries in the world where tigers are found in the wild as well as other countries where they are bred commercially and found in captivity.
The key partners of the workshop include the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Secretariat, Global Tiger Forum, Global Tiger Initiative, World Bank, Save the Tiger Fund, National Trust for Nature Conservation and World Wildlife Nepal.
The main goal of the four-day workshop is to define strategic actions to save the wild tiger from extinction.
(Bron: http://www.samaylive.com/)
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