Tigers as gifts: Precedents for, problems with idea mooted by Nepal’s PM Sharma Oli

But this success has not been all sweet. Amidst ever-shrinking forest cover, the growth in the tiger population has been accompanied by a rise in human-tiger conflict. According to government data accessed by the BBC, tiger attacks claimed almost 40 lives and injured 15 people between 2019 and 2023.

It is in this context that Oli has proposed a controversial solution. Speaking at an event to review COP29 outcomes, the Prime Minister mused, “Why not gift the extra tigers to other countries as economic diplomacy?… People love to keep birds like falcons and peacocks as pets, so why not tigers?”

History of shikar diplomacy

Tigers have been a part of Nepal’s diplomatic arsenal for more than two centuries.

The Ranas, who effectively ruled Nepal from 1846 to 1951, began the tradition of using lavish hunting expeditions or shikars as a means to establish favourable ties with the British. Between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, members of the British aristocracy — including Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII) in 1876 and King George V in 1911-12 — and important officials of the Raj flocked to Nepal to participate in these expeditions.

According to anthropologist Mark Liechty, “with game stocks dwindling elsewhere, Nepal’s Terai lowlands acquired almost mythical status among British hunting elites”. (Far Out: Countercultural Seekers and the Tourist Encounter in Nepal, 2017). In exchange for these exclusive hunting experiences, the Ranas secured personal and political favours, as well as military support.

But excessive hunting eventually took a toll on Nepal’s wildlife — by the mid-20th century, big game species such as  tigers and rhinos were on the brink of extinction.

Animals as goodwill ambassadors

This did not, however, stop wild animals from being used for international diplomacy.

Starting in 1985, when a pair was gifted to India, Nepal has exported at least 26 endangered one-horned rhinos to foreign governments including the US, the UK, Germany, Austria, Japan, and China. The country has also gifted elephants, most recently in 2024, when it gifted two adults, Rudrakali and Khagendraprasad, to Qatar.

Gifting wild animals is not a novel practice in international diplomacy. Jawaharlal Nehru, for instance, gifted a 15-year-old elephant christened Indira to Japan in 1949, which he said was a gift to all Japanese children from the children of India.

In recent years, China has mastered the art of using pandas not only as goodwill gestures but also as leverage in international diplomacy. Unlike other countries, China only loans pandas, and does not give them as gifts. These animals can thus be recalled if bilateral relations go sour — a problem zoos in the US faced after ties with China took a nosedive in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keeping tigers as pets, status symbols

Nepal plans to “gift” tigers. And based on Oli’s remarks, not just to countries. The Nepal PM’s suggestion of gifting tigers “as pets” is very contentious. Wealthy and powerful individuals from around the world keep big cats as pets. These are seen as symbols of status and luxury.

In 2021, the WWF estimated that around 5,000 tigers live in captivity in the US alone — more than the estimated 3,900 tigers left in the wild globally. It was only in 2023 that the US passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act to end the private ownership of big cats as pets.

Just last week, Pakistan’s Punjab province passed a new law which allows individuals to keep big cats as pets in lieu of a licence fee.

But tigers are apex predators in the wild. They have complex needs that are difficult, if not impossible, to meet in a domestic setting. In captivity, they are often subjected to poor living conditions, given inadequate veterinary care, and suffer from malnutrition. Rampant inbreeding also makes them more susceptible to disease, causes behavioral issues, and shortens their lifespan. Many even abandon tigers when their upkeep becomes too costly.

While Nepal may have a problem of plenty when it comes to tigers, any solution which will see the big cats being gifted, especially to individuals, will be controversial.