Nepal’s government announced its tiger population has increased by 63 percent since 2009. With only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild, Nepal's amazing progress in tiger conservation is certainly good news. The survey concluded Nepal now has an estimated 198 tigers, with a range between 163-235. “Tigers are a part of Nepal’s natural wealth and we are committed to ensuring these magnificent wild cats have the prey, protection and space to thrive,” said Megh Bahadur Pandey, Director General of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation “We cannot afford to forget that wildlife criminals are aggressively preying upon the last of the world’s wild tigers and if we allow complacency to creep in, all the conservation gains we applaud today could be gone tomorrow,” said Shubash Lohani, Deputy Director of WWF’s Eastern Himalayas program. (Source : DAN)