Traveling up towards the Foothills
Origins
In 2011, while traveling through a remote region of central Nepal, John Brooks heard something unexpected from local villagers.
A tiger had taken a calf the night before.
Not in a national park.
Not in a protected reserve.
But in the mountains — far from where tigers were believed to live.
For families who depend on their livestock, the loss of an animal can be devastating. In many parts of the world, the typical response to predator attacks is retaliation.
Instead, John compensated the family for their loss.
Word spread quickly through neighboring villages. A simple act helped prevent the use of poison or traps and opened the door to something more powerful than enforcement: trust.
Plans to return in 2015 to continue tracking signs of large cats were interrupted by Nepal’s devastating earthquake. Rather than abandon the region, the project shifted focus to helping communities rebuild — introducing earthquake-resistant earthbag homes.
From the beginning, the Nepal Tiger Project has been built on a simple idea:
Conservation works best when people feel supported.
Our Mission
Tigers are one of the most iconic — and endangered — species on Earth.
But conservation isn’t only about saving animals.
It’s about making sure people and wildlife can live together without one threatening the survival of the other.
The Nepal Tiger Project exists to explore an open question:
Could tigers be living in the high mountains of Nepal, beyond their known range?
And if they are — how do we protect both them and the people who share their landscape?
Our work focuses on:
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Investigating reports of tigers in Nepal’s Okhaldhunga District
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Working alongside local communities to reduce conflict with predators
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Supporting schools and villages through conservation education
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Promoting coexistence instead of retaliation
Because long-term conservation isn’t built on fences.
It’s built on relationships.
Why This Matters
Most conservation efforts focus on protecting wildlife inside national parks and reserves.
But the future of large predators may depend on something else entirely:
Whether they can survive beyond those boundaries.
If tigers are living in Nepal’s high mountain regions, it would challenge long-standing assumptions about where these animals can exist — and how conservation should work.
Instead of separating people and predators, the answer may lie in helping them coexist.
What we learn here could shape how conservation is approached far beyond Nepal.
Meet the Team
Here are a few of the people who make up The Nepal Tiger Project.
John Brooks
Founder, Nepal Tiger Project
John Brooks is a retired wildlife biologist and former Special Agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who now works as a filmmaker and conservation advocate.
In 2011, while trekking in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, John began hearing repeated reports from local villagers of tiger sightings in areas far outside any protected reserve. When no formal follow-up investigation occurred, he launched the Nepal Tiger Project to explore the possibility that tigers may exist in high-altitude habitats previously thought unsuitable for the species.
Since 2012, John has worked to document wildlife presence in remote regions of Nepal while building trust with local communities living alongside large predators. His approach emphasizes coexistence — supporting villagers affected by livestock losses while encouraging protection of endangered wildlife.
John’s background includes over two decades in federal wildlife law enforcement and conservation work. Today, he combines field research with storytelling to bring attention to overlooked conservation challenges and the people who live closest to them.
Tensing Sherpa
Village Rep
Tensing Sherpa lives in the village of Dhupi Surke and is in charge of organizing the construction of Earthbag Homes and other alternative home structures
Anisha Pokharel
Conservation Biologist
Anisha Pokharel is a conservation biologist whose work focuses on the intersection of wildlife ecology and human communities.
She is currently pursuing a joint PhD between the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and The University of Queensland, where her research explores cross-boundary collaboration in large mammal conservation in the Himalayan region.
Her interests lie in understanding how conservation efforts can succeed when local people are included as partners rather than obstacles. She brings experience in field data collection, species identification, and community engagement, with a particular focus on large mammals and coexistence strategies.
Anisha is passionate about raising awareness of wildlife conservation at the local level and believes that long-term success depends as much on people as it does on science.