During a trekking trip into the Himalaya foothills, John Brooks was provided with information by local villagers that tigers had been sighted in the area by more than one individual. This information was passed along to all the major tiger organizations operating around the world. None of the groups followed up the claims.
John Brooks, a wildlife biology major from the University of Montana, felt compelled to investigate further the information on his own and created the Nepal Tiger Project with the goal of proving or disproving the presence of tigers in Nepal’s Okhaldhunga District.
The project has been almost 100% funded by John Brooks since 2012. Limited funding also limits work days in the field gathering valuable data. Additionally, research permits have not yet been granted by the government of Nepal, further limiting the amount and type of information that can be collected. Due to these limitations, only leopards and black bears have been confirmed present.
