Chitwan, April 3

Chitwan National Park staff dealing with a one-horned rhino that was rendered unconscious before being kept in a truck and transferred to Shuklaphanta National Park, on Monday, April 3, 2017. Photo: THT

The translocation of a one-horned rhinoceros from Chitwan National Park to Shuklaphanta National Park started from today.

The CNP initially planned on transferring five rhinos, but only one was transferred today. “We only managed to take one male rhino under control today,” said CNP Chief Conservation Officer Ram Chandra Kandel. Deputy Director General at the park Gopal Bhattarai and Regional Forest Director Ganesh Jha had initiated the search for the rhino along with a team of technicians at Sukhibhag area of the national park. As many as 30 elephants, 30 mahouts, 30 assistants, and 10 park officials were deployed for the task for two days.

Representatives from the Nepali Army, donor agencies, the Nature Conservation Trust, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Zoological Society were among those mobilised to capture the rhinos.

Four rhinos had been transferred to Shuklaphanta National Park in 2000. The rhino population at the park is currently nine. “As the habitat of the area is favourable for rhinos, the authority decided to transfer the animals to Shuklaphanta,” said sources.