Man’s body found in Nepal jungle after ‘tiger mauling’ sparking search for head

Krishna Prasad Sharma was found dead after his family raised the alarm when he did not return from a trip into the Adhabhar forest on a scooter to collect food for his cattle

A tiger^[1] is feared to have bitten off a man’s head after his decapitated body was found in the jungle in Nepal.

Krishna Prasad Sharma was found dead after his family raised the alarm when he did not return from a trip into the Adhabhar^[2] forest on a scooter to collect food for his cattle on Wednesday, August 27. Police and soldiers were called in to search for the 55-year-old missing farmer.

According to preliminary police findings, he was mauled by a tiger^[3] that bit off his head, which has not yet been found. Police said an investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy is ongoing.

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According to the Nepalese government attacks by tigers were responsible for almost 40 deaths and 15 injuries between 2019 and 2023. Local communities report that figure to be much higher and say attacks are on the rise.

Nepal’s prime minister has said the country has “too many tigers” now following a successful conservation project. The country was celebrated globally after its tiger population tripled in 12 years.

There were 121 Bengal tigers in the country in 2010, rising to 355 in 2022. Conservationists previously paid tribute to Nepal’s success in helping the big cat to recover through a crackdown on poaching, an expansion of national parks and the creation of wildlife corridors with neighbouring India.

Concerns about the human cost of the big cat’s recovery are growing after a rise in fatal attacks and have tarnished that achievement. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said: “In such a small country, we have more than 350 tigers… We can’t have so many tigers and let them eat up humans.”

PM Oli said Nepal could send its prized big cats to other countries as gifts. Speaking in December, he said: “For us, 150 tigers are enough. People love to keep birds like falcons and peacocks as pets, so why not tigers? That would boost their status too.”

Around 100,000 tigers roamed Asia just a century ago, but deforestation and rampant poaching pushed them to the brink of extinction. There are now only about 5,600 wild tigers remaining across 13 countries, including Nepal, China^[6], India, Thailand, Indonesia and Russia^[7].