Poachers kill rhino – Nepal

A rhino foraging in Chitwan National Park. Image: As originally published by The Himalayan

Staff Reporter, The Himalayan | August 16, 2021

Poachers killed a one-horned rhino in Chitwan National Park. A dead rhino was found at Batulichaur in the Madi Babai Sector. The incident was kept secret even though the wild animal was killed on July 26.

Chief Conservation Officer of the park Ananath Baral said that the rhino, in its early twenties, was found dead with its horn cut.

He said only bones were found as it was buried. It is suspected that the rhino might have been killed two months ago.

Baral said the wild animal had received bullets in its head.

Nepali Army and staffers at the park had found the dead rhino. Investigation is under way, said police. Baral said the investigation had reached final stage. The gender of the rhino is yet to be confirmed.

Park Information Officer Lokendra Adhikari said that four rhinos were poached in the last fiscal, while 28 rhinos died of natural causes in the same period. As many as five rhinos died natural death in the current fiscal The national park has beefed up security after the incident.

According to the latest census, there are 752 rhinos in Nepal. Of them, 694 are in Chitwan National Park.

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