Kathmandu, Oct 19: The first season for licensed hunting of Naur, Jharal and Boar in the country’s only Dhorpatan hunting reserve has begun.

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation has given permission for hunting 12 Naur or Himalayan blue sheep, eight Jharal or Himalayan Tahr and 11 wild boars for this season.

An Australian citizen under the Nepal Travel Expedition Company has hunted a Naur to kick off the hunting to be carried out by four companies permitted to hunt in the reserve this season.

According to the senior management officer of the reserve, Pemba Sherpa, 12 foreign hunters have obtained hunting permits through the four companies this year. The department determines the minimum fee for hunting, which is Rs 150,000 for a Naur, 75,000 for a Jharal and Rs. 10,000 for a wild boar.

Companies get hunting permits by bidding more than the minimum fee. For this season, the highest bid of Rs. 1.2 million was received for a Naur and Rs. 725,000 for a Jharal.

According to Birendra Prasad Kandel, Senior Conservation Officer of the Reserve Office, the census in 2021 showed the number of Naur at 1,290 and the number of Jharal at 744.

Established in the year 2044 BS, the reserve is spread in an area of 1325 square kilometers. It is home to 32 species of mammals and 164 species of birds . (RSS)