With the growing number of tigers inhabiting Bardiya National Park (BNP) an increasingly relevant question is how much ‘food’ these tigers need. In other words: does BNP have a sufficient prey base to sustain the tiger population currently, and in the future?
The PhD research of Shyam Thapa focusses on generating a better understanding of grasslands within the context of BNP. These grasslands are maintained by grazing herbivores that in turn also serve as important food supply. The missing link between grass and tiger is the population of species that are dependent on grasslands and prey for tiger, consisting of species such as spotted deer (Axis axis), sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) and wild boar (Sus scrofa).
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