In Bhutan, the endangered Bengal tiger is making a comeback
For nearly a year, hundreds of researchers fanned out across Bhutan with one goal in mind: to find living examples of the endangered royal Bengal tiger. It was a massive scientific expedition that saw them survey more than 26,000 square kilometres of territory, or two-thirds of the country.
When researchers returned and tabulated their numbers last year, they were overjoyed.
Bhutan, it turned out, was home to 131 royal Bengal tigers, a 27 per cent jump from 2016.
The survey was conducted with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and was welcomed by conservationists, who have seen wild tiger numbers around the world plummet in recent decades.
The tiger is one of the world’s largest carnivores. It can weigh over 300 kilogrammes and reach up to 3.3 metres in length. This big cat once roamed Asia, from the eastern coast of Russia to the Caspian Sea.
However, since the beginning of the 20th century, an estimated 97 per cent of the world's wild tigers have been lost. There are currently around 4,500 remaining in the wild across Asia, making the tiger an endangered species. The royal Bengal tiger is the most numerous tiger subspecies, making up about half the wild population.
Tigers are not the only animals facing an uncertain future. Biodiversity is deteriorating worldwide at rates unprecedented in human history. Around 1 million species are being pushed towards extinction, and 25 per cent of plant and animal groups are threatened.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted in 2022, aims to halt that decline through a set of four goals, composed of 23 targets to be achieved by 2030.
These goals include 30 per cent conservation of land, sea and inland waters, 30 per cent restoration of degraded ecosystems, and halving the introduction of invasive species.
The implementation of the framework is expected to be a key topic of discussion when leaders gather next month for the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-6), the world’s top decision-making body on environmental matters.
Room to roam
As one of the world’s largest carnivores, tigers need vast swaths of forest and grassland to roam, hunt and reproduce. Bhutan is a particularly important habitat. It provides a link between tiger populations in Nepal and northeast India, helping to keep genetic diversity strong.
However, human population growth across Asia and sprawling development has resulted in an ever-shrinking tiger habitat, threatening the cat’s survival.
A top predator, tigers play an important role in maintaining diverse and healthy ecosystems. They keep wild ungulates, such as pigs and sambar deer, under control, which preserves vegetation.
“The extinction of the Royal Bengal Tiger would be a tragedy, not just because of its stunning beauty and cultural significance,” says Doreen Lynn Robinson, Head of Biodiversity and Land at UNEP.
“Losing these magnificent creatures would disrupt the finely balanced ecosystem and biodiversity of a region that has thrived for millennia."
Human-tiger conflict
Commercial logging, agricultural expansion and other development have eaten away at Asia’s grasslands, resulting in less food for the wild ungulates on which tigers prey. As these prey approach communities and their crops for easy meals, tigers too are venturing closer to villages to find food.
Since 2016, hundreds of cattle in Bhutan have been killed by tigers, causing economic hardship for subsistence farmers and villagers. “Human-tiger conflict has been on the rise, affecting residents in various regions of the country,” says Tashi Dhendup, Head of Bhutan Tiger Center. “While tigers are thriving, they seem to exhibit a significant reliance on livestock.”
Climate change is also putting tigers in peril. Bhutan is strongly affected by planetary warming like other mountainous countries in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region.
As average temperatures rise, glaciers in the north of the country are retreating and heatwaves, wildfires and droughts are spreading. This is forcing tigers to move closer to human settlements to find prey and water.
Through the Vanishing Treasures programme, UNEP is supporting tiger conservation and helping to improve the wellbeing of people who live in proximity to the big cats. That work is being done alongside the Bhutan Tiger Center and the Department of Forest and Park Services, Royal Government of Bhutan.
The programme has helped villagers set up community pasturelands surrounded by solar-powered electric fences to protect livestock from tiger attacks. The fencing also shields crops from wild pigs, which can wipe out entire fields and attract tigers.
The Vanishing Treasures programme is funded by the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It has also focused on restoring grasslands, which are home to many ungulates on which tigers pray. Since 2019, around 93 hectares of grassland have been revived, resulting in improved hunting grounds for tigers and reducing human-tiger conflicts.
This is an abridged version of a story that first appeared on UNEP. To learn more about the UN's work in Bhutan, visit bhutan.un.org.
