South of the Himalaya, the strip of lowlands along the Nepalese-Indian border is known as the Terai. Here, grasses and forests fed by Himalayan-born rivers have their own richness, but also their dangers. At least four deaths have been reported in the last month after attacks by tigers, a leopard, and a rhino.

A tiger killed an 18-year-old girl on the first day of the year in a Terai village near the Indian border. She was killed just 400m away from her home while walking home from school.

Wildlife passage

“We are certain it was a Royal Bengal tiger because she was walking with her mother when the animal attacked her from behind,” her uncle told Everest Chronicle.

In December, big cats killed two other people in the same area. A man was killed by a tiger on December 17, and a woman died after a leopard attack on December 24.

The attack on the girl took place in Kothiya village, located along the Khata forest corridor. This protected passage links Nepal’s Bardiya National Park -- the largest and wildest park in Nepal's part of the Terai -- and India’s Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. It is designed to allow elephants, rhinos, and tigers to move freely between the two countries.

The tragic event shows the complex relationship between humans and wildlife. Tigers are an endangered species, but villagers say they live in constant fear, but cannot afford to move away from their homes. Also, they must venture into the forest to gather firewood and fodder for livestock. The villagers remark that the latest attacks took place in broad daylight.

Nepal has nearly tripled its wild tiger population in 15 years, from about 121 in 2009 to 355 in 2022, according to Everest Chronicle.

Between 2019 and 2025, more than 60 people died from tiger attacks in Nepal, according to government data.

Deaths peaked at 21 in 2022 — more than any year in the preceding decade, Australia's ABC News reported.

Unsurprisingly, most cases occur close to wildlife sanctuaries and other protected areas, such as Bardiya, where the latest attacks took place, but also in the Chitwan district, located in the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province, in central Nepal.

Chitwan's rhinos

An account published in March 2025 listed all the people killed in and around Chitwan National Park, Nepal's most famous spot for wildlife viewing. Many climbers and trekkers spend some days here after their mountain travels, on photographic safaris by vehicle or elephant back.

Chitwan National Park is the main habitat of the rare one-horned rhinoceros, locally known as patebagh, as well as tigers and wild elephants.

Rhinoceroses are dangerous if they feel threatened and charge. Last Monday, a rhino attacked a 56-year-old man in Chitwan. He died on the spot, according to Nepalnews.

Encounters with rhinos are quite common for the inhabitants of villages like Saudara, which are close to the park. See below:

In 2024-25, 11 people died in Chitwan from animal attacks; 41 more were injured, according to The Rising Nepal.

Wildlife thriving

Chitwan National Park has issued reports on fatal encounters over the last decade. According to their figures, 127 people died in animal attacks during that time -- most of them (52) from rhinoceroses.

"Besides, 40 people died [from] tigers, 28 people died due to wild elephants, Magar crocodiles killed three, wild boar killed another three, and a Gauri cow killed one person," The Kantipur listed.

During the years of the Maoist insurrection in the 1990s and early 2000s, there was little control, and poaching was rampant. Security and wildlife protection improved afterward, and the number of animals increased accordingly. However, local wildlife experts claim that attacks have not increased proportionally; just the opposite. Park information officer Avinash Thapa Magar told The Kantipur that thanks to more protection measures, there are now fewer attacks, despite thriving wildlife.

Remaining vigilant

The main problem arises when animals leave the park and approach human settlements or roam the surrounding forests. Tigers may hunt, rhinos search for grass to graze, and elephants may either look for food or, in the case of males, domestic female elephants to breed with, The Kantipur reported. Wildlife conservationists insist that the key is for local populations to remain vigilant when venturing into the forest.

One postscript, however: National figures make clear that the most dangerous animals are not necessarily the biggest. The Xinhua News cites a police report stating that 83 Nepalis died from wild animal encounters between July and December 2024. Of these 83, 70 died from snakebites.