CHITWAN: A female rhinoceros lost her life after she along with a local man fell 15 meters down from a ridge into a quicksand while chasing the latter at Chiyan Dada at Bharatpur Municipality-24 on Friday.

Both the rhino and 62-year-old Rahar Singh Ghale suffered injuries after the fall and the rhinoceros died during rescue, Chitwan National Park Information Officer Gopal Ghimire informed.

The incident occurred when the 10-year-old rhino came out of a community forest, entered nearby human settlement and ran rampant.

According to Geeta Nagar Area Police Office, Ghale is at the treatment table in Alive Hospital and Trauma Centre based at Bharatpur.

As per official statistics, as many as 20 rhinoceros have died of natural causes in the current fiscal year. During the fiscal year 2017/18, the number of deceased rhinoceros was marked at 26.

(Edited By Prahlad Rijal)