In Nepal, AI builds on local knowledge to help prevent tiger attacks
KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu says he still remembers the day a tiger attacked him. It was around 1 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2004. The encounter left him blind in his left eye. More than two decades later, the 59-year-old doesn’t speak ill of the animal that attacked him. “When incidents, like the one I was […]
KATHMANDU — Bhadai Tharu, now 59, recalls the day in January 2004 when a tiger attacked him, leaving him partially blind in one eye. Reflecting on the incident more than two decades later, Tharu, who chairs the Gauri Community Forest near Bardiya National Park, emphasizes the importance of coexistence between people and tigers. Nepal's tiger population has now reached a record high of 429 individuals, with Bardiya National Park hosting 112 of them.
To prevent human encounters with tigers, researchers have employed a novel approach: utilizing an AI system that "listens" to alarm calls from chital deer, in conjunction with mapping the locations where tigers or leopards may be present, thereby enabling humans to avoid those areas.
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