Narayangarh, December 23:

The rotting carcass of a rhino, without its horn, was found at the Liglige area of the Chitwan National Park on Thursday, indicating that it may have been killed by poachers.

A report prepared by the CNP states that the demand for rhino horns in international markets is met mainly from the Kajiranga National Park in Assam and the Chitwan and Bardiya national parks. With the latest find, the number of rhinos killed by poachers since Shrawan has climbed to 11.

The state of the carcass indicates that the rhino may have been killed a month ago, the CNP chief protection officer Gopal Prasad Upadhaya said, adding that the autopsy of the carcass was carried out on Thursday.

According to a census, there were 544 rhinos in the CNP in 2000. The number plummeted to 372 in 2005.

As rhino horns are sold in the international market at exorbitant rates, rhino poaching has been increasing over the years, CNP sources said.