Dutch tourist escapes tiger attack in Nepal

A Dutch tourist who survived a tiger attack in the jungles of Nepal over the weekend by climbing a tree said he was lucky to be alive and will now have a story to tell when he returns home.

Gerard Van Laar said he was attacked by the tiger when he and his Nepalese guide were hiking in Bardia National Park on Saturday.

“I was super lucky to be alive. I would have been dead if it had not been for Krishna [his guide],” Mr Laar told The Associated Press by telephone from Bardia, about 400km southwest of the capital, Kathmandu.

“All of a sudden I heard a roar and a growl, and the tiger was heading toward us at full speed,” he said.

Mr Laar was able to escape by climbing a tree but his guide was attacked and slightly injured as he ran away to draw the attention of the tiger.

The tiger returned and circled the tree while Mr Laar tried to stay as quiet as possible about 6m above the ground.

About two hours later, the guide arrived back with help and they shouted and used sticks to drive away the tiger.

The guide was hospitalised for a day but Mr Laar was not hurt.

Bardia in southwest Nepal is a protected national forest which is home to about 70 tigers. It receives thousands of visitors a years, but attacks are rare.