Records & People

They Used to Hunt Nepal's Birds for Fun. Now They're Saving 900 Species.

Once boys with slingshots outside Chitwan National Park, a generation of Nepali hunters has become the backbone of the country's bird conservation —…

By Laxman Rawal · Jul 19, 2026

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Shankar Tiwari once hunted birds with a slingshot as a boy outside Chitwan National Park. Today, at 57, he tops Nepal's eBird "species leader" ranking with 516 species logged by sight — more birds than most people will see in an entire lifetime. He didn't get…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What this means for trekkers

What this means for you You don't need a spotting scope to benefit. Nepal's best birding ground — the sal forests and grasslands of Chitwan and the floodplains of Bardia — sits on trails most visitors only pass through on the way to a jungle safari. A guide…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

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