nEPAL

A BBC wildlife documentary is putting Nepal’s Bardia National Park on the world map and the story behind it is remarkable.

“Tiger Island”, broadcasted on BBC One on June 7, 2026, was filmed entirely in the community forests surrounding Bardia. What the cameras captured has surprised even experienced scientists. Two female tigers, Goma and Jugini, were filmed sharing parental duties and raising each other’s cubs together. At one point, Goma was seen caring for five cubs, three of which belonged to Jugini. Tigers are widely considered solitary animals. This footage challenges that assumption completely.

The series also recorded male tigers showing tolerance toward cubs, not the aggression normally expected, alongside rare footage of nocturnal tiger behavior that researchers have barely studied.

None of this would have happened without three local sisters, Sushila, Manju and Ranju Mahatara, nature guides from Bardia whose field knowledge and patience over months of tracking made the discovery possible. It started in late 2022 when they noticed Goma and Jugini interacting. That single observation eventually became a global BBC production.

Nepal’s tiger recovery makes all of this possible. The national tiger population grew from 121 in 2010 to 355 in 2022, one of the fastest recoveries in Asia. The 2026 census results are due on International Tiger Day, July 29.

Bardia is still far less crowded than Chitwan. The forest is wilder, sightings are raw and unpredictable and the experience feels nothing like a managed wildlife park. You walk the same buffer-zone forests where BBC crews spent months filming. Local guides here don’t just point at animals. They know them by name.