By Karuna Thapa
Kathmandu, April 24
In Chitwan National Park, 34 rhinos have died. People killed two, while the rest died of natural reasons. In the previous fiscal year, 33 rhinos died in the park due to natural causes. Natural causes are said to have killed up to 43 rhinos in a single year.
Most rhinos have died in the fight, according to Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, the park’s information officer. The rhinoceros died of old age, a tiger attack, falling into a pond, and falling into a pit, according to him. He claims that as the number of rhinos grows, so does the number of rhino fatalities from natural causes.
According to Tiwari, the park is taking the required efforts to decrease rhino deaths caused by natural causes. During the rainy season, many rhinos die of natural causes. In the western portion of the park, the bigger the rhino population, the higher the natural mortality rate.
Haribhadra Acharya, the park’s Chief Conservation Officer, claimed that plans are in the works to shift rhinos from the west to the east. According to the park administration, natural mortality might be decreased if certain western rhinos could be relocated east due to better water and grassland management.
According to the most recent census, Chitwan has 694 rhinos, Bardiya has 38, Shuklaphanta has 17 rhinos, and Parsa has three rhinos. There are 752 in total.
