Dutch tourist escapes tiger by climbing a tree in Nepal

A Dutch tourist had a lucky escape on Saturday in Nepal’s Bardia National Park after he was attacked by a royal Bengal tiger.

Bengal tiger. Image by Eric Kilby / CC BY-SA 2.0

Engineer Gerard van Laar escaped the attack by climbing a tree but his guide, Krishna Shah, was mauled while attempting to distract the beast. Luckily, Shah was able to get free and raised the alarm, but Van Laar was trapped in the tree for two hours before villagers arrived and scared the tiger away with sticks. Home to some 70 tigers, Bardia National Park is one of Nepal’s most popular destinations for wildlife-spotting walking tours, but attacks on humans are rare. Read more: kathmandupost.ekantipur.com