KATHMANDU — When Nepali ornithologist Hem Bahadur Katwal reviewed the existing literature to prepare a proposal for his Ph.D., he came across a subject barely explored, not just in Nepal,…
KATHMANDU — Scientists in Nepal have recorded three carnivore species outside the country’s protected area network for the first time, highlighting the potential for more discoveries in the little-explored Trans-Himalayan…
KATHMANDU — Media reporting of wildlife crime in Nepal covers only a small fraction of the trade in the country, with a heavy focus on charismatic protected species such as…
KATHMANDU — Ram Prasad Paudel of Maramche village in Nepal's Gandaki province decided not to grow maize on his farm this spring. He opted for green vegetables, instead. "But I…
KATHMANDU -- On the evening of March 27, as residents of the settlement of Kusum Khola, on the fringes of Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, were preparing dinner, they heard footsteps…
KATHMANDU — Nine lakes listed as Ramsar sites, perennial rivers that start from the Himalayas and beyond, and lush green fields in the foothills of the mountains: these features make…
KATHMANDU — Hundreds of bird lovers in Nepal, who would otherwise have been enjoying the spring weather visiting the various bird-watching sites around the country, stayed home in the second…
KATHMANDU — Nepal entered 2022 with encouraging news related to its tiger population. As a census gathered pace, Bardiya National Park, home to 87 of Nepal’s estimated 235 tigers, received…
KATHMANDU — A bear walks into a hospital unnoticed at around midnight. It licks bloodstains on the floor. At first, the staffers think it’s a big dog, then realize it's…
KATHMANDU — Conservationists have welcomed the declaration of Nepal's first official bird sanctuary as a big boost for more than a dozen globally threatened species. The Ghodaghodi complex, a wetland…
The recent discovery near Mount Everest of “super large” deposits of lithium, the key element in the batteries powering electric vehicles, has raised concerns over the fate of water resources…
KATHMANDU — Nepalis whose livelihoods rely on access to the country’s community forests have suspended planned protests against a new law they say will threaten their autonomy and force their…
Nepal is set to receive its first grant under the Green Climate Fund, an international fund established to help developing countries cope with the impacts of climate change. While authorities…
PITHAULI, Nepal — A quiet cattle grazing ground on the fringes of the Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal suddenly burst into life. Tall trees wearing shades of green after overnight…
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal's government plans to conduct a census of greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) in March 2020, a year after postponing the count due to lack of funds.…
In September 2014, Nepali zoologist Madhu Chetri asked his professor Morten Odden a strange question during their fieldwork. "Are you tired?" he asked Odden as the duo from the Inland…
When economist Adrian Lopes read a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a question popped into his mind. The report, which described rhino poaching and counter-poaching measures, talked…
SAURAHA, Nepal — Barbecue smoke and soft reggae music fill the air as tourists lounge on the banks of the Rapti River in Sauraha, the eastern gateway to Nepal's Chitwan…
NAWALPUR DISTRICT, Nepal — A few kilometers from the town of Danda along the East-West Highway in Nepal's southern plains, the road diverges. One fork leads to Barauli, the other…
KATHMANDU, Nepal — A planned census of Nepal's greater one-horned rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros unicornis) will not take place this year. "The count has been postponed," Bishnu Shrestha, a spokesman for the…
Park rangers at Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, home to the iconic greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), receive a tip-off from one of their informants. Within a few hours, they’re ready…
THAKURDWARA, Nepal — Staff at Bardia National Park in mid-western Nepal have been looking after a "special guest" for the last eight years. The inmate, an Indian or greater one-horned…
KATHMANDU — Nepal’s Supreme Court has ordered the government not to construct any new roads inside Chitwan National Park without approval from UNESCO, park authorities and other stakeholders. Chitwan National…
KUMROJ, Nepal — In March 2016, a team of experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) arrived in Nepal's Chitwan National Park. Dispatched at the request of…
KATHMANDU, Nepal — As dawn peeks through the morning mist on an early spring day in Nepal's Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, a duck-sized bird flaps its wings and throws itself…
CHITWAN, Nepal —There was a time when Dhan Maya Tamang and her husband, Prem Bahadur, both in their 50s, worried about rhinos straying into their settlement. "They would come out…
KHAIRAHANI, Nepal — Thousands of tourists from around the world flock to Nepal’s Chitwan National Park every year to get a glimpse of the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). But…
The survey looked easy on paper. All they had to do was to go the Babai Valley in western Nepal and fly a drone (or unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV) along…
In December 2015, officials from Nepal's Central Investigation Bureau had a hunch that something was amiss with the country’s tigers. The bureau, in the past few months, had seized more…
Abhaya Raj Joshi is a staff writer for Mongabay based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Find him on Twitter via 
