Shocked by the fact that 42 one-horned rhinoceros roaming in Royal Chitwan National Park have died in the past 15 months, officials of Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) have announced a detailed investigation into the causes of this loss. Preliminary findings reveal that the rhinos' deaths were mostly due to poaching and poisoning. Officials at the DNPWC say this is the first time in 10 years that the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, living in one of the finest habitats in Asia, have suffered such a large number of deaths in little more than a year's time. Department officials told journalists that a total of five rhinos were killed by poachers. Six others were found killed by the villagers living in the park's buffer zone - three poisoned and three electrocuted by the angry villagers because rhinos frequently destroy their crops. Similarly, two rhinos died after they were swept away by floods during monsoon this year, while two others died by drowning. Nine rhinos died as a result of mutual fighting, while one was killed by tiger, and another dead rhino was found ?hanging on a gabion wire,' according to wildlife officials. The Department says that the remaining 10 rhinos died of natural causes. Between 10 to 15 rhinos die natural deaths every year. A total of 14 rhinos died during the period 1997 to 1998, while the death toll stood at nine last year, DNPWC records show. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Royal Chitwan National Park in the Terai, the southern plains of the Kingdom of Nepal, is now home to over 500 one-horned rhinos. Their numbers are up from a census five years ago which put the rhino population in the park at 466. Wildlife officials claim that there are as many as 600 rhinos currently in Chitwan National park. Including 52 rhinos in Royal Bardia National Park in the western Nepal, officials put the total rhino population in Nepal over 650.
The Department is also in the process of translocating more rhinos from Chitwan to other feasible parks and reserves, officials at the Department said. Dr Maskey announced that rhinos would also be translocated to Skukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve in the far-western Terai. Shukla Phanta is famous for its vast stretch of grassland which, officials say, could turn out to be a suitable habitat for rhinos.
To safeguard the park from getting overcrowded with rhinos, officials have even translocated about 40 rhinos to Royal Bardia National park in the western Terai in past years. These 40 animals have now multiplied to reach 52 at Bardia according to the Department.
