Tiger conservation leaves families on forest fringes in peril

Between physical disability and the crushing weight of debt, survivors of tiger attacks in Banke and Bardiya are left to fend for themselves.

Pushpa Tamang, aged 42, sits on the narrow porch of her home in Gabhar settlement in ward 1 of Rapti Sonari Rural Municipality, Banke. A red shawl is wrapped tightly around her head. To a casual observer, she appears healthy, a woman resting in the afternoon sun. But the exterior is a mask for a shattered internal reality.