13 rhinos die in seven months at CNP

Chitwan, January 29

A total of 13 rhinos died in seven months of the current fiscal at Chitwan National Park.

Two rhinos died at the park today and yesterday. With this, the number of rhinos that died in the current fiscal has reached 13.

Information Officer as well as Assistant Conservation Officer at the park Gopal Ghimire said a rhino in its early twenties was found dead at Tamaspur of the park yesterday. He said the dead female rhino had a 10-month-old baby inside its womb. Ghimire informed that another rhino in its early thirties was found dead at Sukhibhar area today. Preliminary investigation shows that the rhino might have died due to poisonous food.

Senior vet Dr Bijaya Kumar Shrestha at the park said generally rhinos died due to clash with each other and old age.

“Some die after they get stuck in the quicksand. So far no epidemic or contagious diseases have been seen among rhinos, but the rhino death rate at the park is alarming,” he added.

The Department of National Park has been working to find the root cause behind the increasing rhino deaths after formation of a committee last year. No poachers have killed rhinos for the last few years.

But death of rhinos even due to natural causes is a matter of serious concern.

As many as 43 rhinos died due to natural causes in the last fiscal. In the fiscal 2017-18, 26 rhinos died of natural causes while 25 died due to natural cause in 2016-17.