Bardiya, May 24:

A one-horned rhino census team has spotted 31 rhinos in Bardiya National Park.

The team of 24, including park officials and wildlife conservationists and led by rhino expert Dr Shanta Raj Gyawali, had started counting the animals a week ago. The census is being carried out by the Bardiya National Park. The team entered the Babai Valley region yesterday from the Karnali embankment region.

Chief of the National Nature Protection Fund of the Bardiya Conservation Project, Naresh Subedi, said 31 rhinos were spotted in the park until yesterday.

Expressing surprise at the large number of rhinos inhabiting the Karnali Embankment region, he said, “We were amazed and encouraged to see 31 rhinos at the place where only 13 rhinos had been relocated earlier.” The team entered the park last Friday and has been staying there since.

Ranger at the Bardiya National Park Ramesh Thapa said the team chose to stay in the national park as it would help the counting process a lot.

“As they have been counting rhinos while staying in the park, their task has become easier and faster. A task which would have taken two weeks is coming to an end in a week,” Thapa said.

“Word has been received that the team will return from the park on Saturday,” he added.

Some 83 rhinos were relocated in the Bardiya National Park from Chitwan National Park between 1986 and 2003. Of these 13 were relocated in the Karnali Embankment region and 70 in the Babai Valley region.

“The exact number of rhinos will be known only after the census team submits its report,” Subedi said.