CHITWAN: A rare one-horned rhinoceros has been found dead at Madi Bankatta in Chitwan National Park on Tuesday.

According to Assistant Conservation Officer and Information Officer Nurendra Aryal, the rare species was found drowned near Madi Bankatta area in the park.

"It seems the rhino had died a couple of days ago," Aryal said. He further said a team from the CNP reached the site and they are yet to reveal the details.

In this fiscal year, four one-horned rhinoceros including this one have died of natural causes. Earlier, in the fiscal year 2074/2075, 26 rhinoceros died of natural causes.

Natural causes including locking horns with one another, delivery failure, sweeping by flood, sinking in quicksand, wound infection and ageing among others led to the death of rhinoceros in the park, Aryal informed.

Meanwhile, there are altogether 645 endangered one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal and CNP alone houses 605 of them.