Wildlife conservation turns challenging, 21 rhinos dead in 10 months

Kathmandu: As many as 21 rhinos have died in and around the Chitwan National Park area in the past 10 months of the current fiscal year.

Two of the rhinos were killed by poachers while the other 19 were found dead due to natural reasons. Public Information Officer at the national park, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said the dead rhinos included seven males, seven females, and seven unidentified. The rare species are dying due to several reasons, including being stuck in swamps, in-fighting, aging, tiger attack, poaching, human activities, and electrocution.

He said the number of rhinos dying due to habitat has increased with the rise in their number. ‘Managing grasslands and wetlands will help in rhino conservation, said Tiwari. The park is managing new wetlands, repairing old ones, and managing grasslands for rhino conservation, he shared. It was shared that 13 males, seven females, and one unidentified rhino died in the last fiscal year.

Presently, there are 694 rhinos in the park. The CNP has shifted some rhinos to the eastern region for habitat management with the rise in the number of rhinos in the western part of the park, which is considered a suitable habitat for rare one-horned rhinos.

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