Himal Press 
File Photo
CHITWAN: Twenty rhinoceroes have been found dead in Chitwan district over the past eight months.
These pachyderms were found dead in Chitwan National Park (CNP) and other surrounding areas.
These rhinos died from tiger and crocodile attacks, fighting among themselves, illness, getting stuck in swamps and old age, according to officials of the Chitwan National Park Office.
According to Abinash Thapa Magar, the information officer at the CNP Office, there has been no incident of rhino poaching so far in the current fiscal year.
The CNP Office recorded 21 rhino deaths in the previous fiscal year. Of them, 18 died due to natural reasons, two were shot dead by poachers and the cause of one rhino’s death could not be determined.
According to Magar, in the fiscal year 2079/80, 22 rhinos died in Chitwan National Park. Among them, 20 died due to natural causes, one due to electric current, and one due to poaching.
The death rate of rhinos due to natural causes has been decreasing in recent years. In 2018/19, 43 rhinos died due to natural reasons.
Nepal has 752 rhinoceros, according to the 2021 census. There are 694 rhinos in CNP, 38 are in Bardiya National Park, 18 in Shuklaphanta National Park and three in Parsa National Park.
Although a rhino census was planned for this fiscal year, it has been postponed.
(Translated from RSS)
