KATHMANDU, APRIL 8
Most of the population of the rare one-horned rhino is found in Chitwan National Park (CNP), making it the best place for their habitat. There are 694 one-horned rhinos in the CNP, which covers a total area of 952.63 square meters.
According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, 102 rhinos were relocated from CNP to Bardiya National Park, Shuklaphanta National Park, and Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve from 1986 to 2023 to establish a new breeding group.
Similarly, an internal translocation of an additional seven rhinos was made within CNP, as well as relocated to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in March, shared the Department's information officer and senior ecologist, Shyam Kumar Shah.
He mentioned that 26 rhinos were gifted to different countries during the same period. Nepal, for the first time, had gifted four rhinos to India's Dudhwa National Park in 1985.
According to the Department's records, it had gifted 22 rhinos to the United States of America, Germany, Singapore, Bangladesh, the UK, Japan, Austria, and China at different times until 2018.
According to CNP, the rhinos were translocated internally within CNP and shifted to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve recently after the growth rate of the rhinos decreased following their increasing density at the western area of CNP based on a feasibility study of internal translocation.
Based on this feasibility study, a secretary-level decision of the Ministry of Forest and Environment held on February 7, six rhinos were shifted from the western area to the eastern area of CNP starting from March 15.
The Department has set a goal of developing a 'Rhino Century' at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. As per this goal, two female rhinos, Pushpa and Anjali, were relocated from CNP to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve on September 27, 2023, on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
The global population of one-horned rhinoceroses is 4,000. They are now limited to the Terai region of Nepal and the protected areas of India only, roaming in the basins of the Brahmaputra, Indus, and Ganges rivers in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent.
According to the 2022 national rhino census in Nepal, there are 694 one-horned rhinos in Chitwan National Park, 38 in Bardiya National Park, 17 in Shuklaphanta National Park, and three in Parsa National Park, totaling 752 in Nepal.
This species is included in the sensitive category of AYUCN, Schedule 1 of CITES, and Schedule 1 (Protected Wildlife) of Nepal's National Parks and Wildlife Protection Act, 2029. Dil Bahadur Purja Pun, senior conservation officer of Chitwan National Park, said the main challenges for the protection of rhinoceroses are poaching, habitat destruction and degradation, and the impact of climate change.
He mentioned that in the financial year 2079-80 BS, 26 rhinos died due to various causes, out of which 22 rhinoceroses died due to natural causes, poaching, and electrocution.
Similarly, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, information officer of CNP, informed the Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) that 19 rhinos died till the 21st Chait (April 3) of the current year. Among them, 15 rhinoceroses died due to natural causes (old age, illness, tiger attacks), three due to poaching, and one due to other reasons.
Listed in the World Heritage List, this park is home to rare wildlife including the one-horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal tiger, gaur, wild elephants, and Alligator crocodiles.
Rich in biological diversity, the park spans four districts: Chitwan, Parsa, Makawanpur, and Nawalparasi (Bardghat Susta Purva). It is the first park in Nepal to be the main habitat of the rare one-horned rhinoceros and Royal Bengal Tiger, established on September 20, 1973.
