KATHMANDU: Twelve rhinos have been found dead in Chitwan National Park and its buffer zones in the first five months of the current fiscal year.
According to Abinash Thapa Magar, the park’s information officer, the deceased include four male rhinos, five females, and three whose gender could not be identified.
Among the cases, one rhino died due to electrocution.
In the same period, a six-year-old tiger was reported dead following a territorial fight with another tiger on December 1 at Nandapur Ghat under the Amaltari sector of the park.
Human-wildlife conflicts have also been concerning, with two people losing their lives and four others sustaining injuries in rhino attacks in the past five months. Both fatalities occurred in Nawalpur Bardaghat.
To curb illegal activities in the park, authorities have arrested 150 individuals involved in offenses such as rhino poaching, smuggling of rhino horns, tiger-related crimes, illegal possession of wild boars, unauthorized grass cutting, fishing, and sedge harvesting.
The park has taken necessary legal actions against those apprehended, according to Information Officer Thapa Magar.
Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, remains under heightened vigilance to protect its wildlife amidst increasing challenges.
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