CHITWAN: In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, 20 rhinos have been found dead in Chitwan National Park and its surrounding areas.
According to Abinash Thapa Magar, the park’s information officer, all the deaths have been attributed to natural causes, including attacks by tigers and crocodiles, fighting among themselves, illness, getting stuck in swamps, and old age.
Magar said no rhinos have died due to poaching during the current fiscal year. In contrast, the previous fiscal year saw the deaths of 21 rhinos, of which 18 died of natural causes, two were killed by poachers, and the cause of one death remained undetermined.
Similarly, in the fiscal year 2022/23, a total of 22 rhino deaths were recorded in the park, with 20 due to natural causes, one due to electrocution, and one due to poaching.
Following the significant number of rhino deaths from natural causes, the Ministry of Forests and Environment formed a committee to investigate the underlying factors. However, officials have observed a decreasing trend in rhino mortality from natural causes over the years.
In the fiscal year 2018/19, 43 rhinos died from natural causes, a number that has gradually declined in subsequent years.
According to the 2021 census, the number of rhinos in Nepal stands at 752, with the highest population of 694 in Chitwan National Park.
Bardiya is home to 38 rhinos, Shuklaphanta hosts 18, and three are found in Parsa. While a rhino census program was scheduled for the current fiscal year, it has been postponed.
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