In the first eight months of the current fiscal year, 20 rhino have been found dead in Chitwan National Park and its surrounding areas. According to the park’s information officer, Abinash Thapa Magar, the rhino found dead in this fiscal year have died due to natural causes. They were killed by tigers or leopards, fought among themselves, suffered from illness, got stuck in swamps, or died of old age.
There have been no rhino killed due to poaching this fiscal year. Last fiscal year, 21 rhinos died, of which 18 died from natural causes, two were killed by poachers, and the cause of one death is still unknown.
Magar also mentioned that in the fiscal year 2079/80, 22 rhinos died in Chitwan National Park, 20 from natural causes, one from an electric shock, and one from poaching. After a high number of rhino deaths from natural causes, the Ministry of Forests and Environment formed a committee to investigate the causes. The number of rhino dying from natural causes has been decreasing in recent years. In the fiscal year 2075/76, 43 rhinos died from natural causes, and the death rate has since reduced.
According to the 2021 census, Nepal has 752 rhinos, with the highest number of one-horned rhino found in Chitwan National Park (694). Bardiya has 38, Shuklaphanta has 18, and Parsa has three rhinos. Although a rhino census was scheduled for this fiscal year, it has been postponed.
