By Basanta Parajuli
Bharatpur, Nov. 7: Discussions are underway in Sauraha, Chitwan, on how to
engage people in the protection of one-horned rhinos at Chitwan National Park (CNP).
Officials discussed how to involve people and their families who have completed their jail terms for poaching rhinos in the conservation of the same. While the discussion was in the middle, a call came from Chief Conservation Officer of Chitwan National Park (CNP), Andha Nath Baral, who said, "The bodies of a mother rhino and a calf killed by poachers have been found in the same place."
It is estimated that they were killed about three months ago, when shots were fired from inside the park.
A Nepal Army patrol team has found the carcasses of the rhinos in the western part of CNP. According to park security personnel, the mother, who had just given birth to the calf, was killed.
On Thursday, managing the bodies of the dead rhinos, skeletons of more rhinos without horns were also discovered at the same area.
"The rhinos must have been killed and thrown away five or six months ago. Only the bones of a dead rhinos were found,” Baral said.
Earlier, on the third week of August, a rhino was found dead in the same area after being killed by poachers. Park security personnel have suspected that the poacher killed the rhino as it was found with head and back injuries.
In all, 12 rhinos were found dead in the current fiscal year alone, out of which four were killed by poachers.
In the last four years, CNP has recorded zero poaching of rhinos. But increasing numbers of poaching have added worries to the conservation officials.
In the last fiscal year 2076/77, a total of 26 rhinos died in the park -- all of them of natural causes.
Former Chief Conservation Officer of CNP Ram Prit Yadav, who has been involved in the tiger and rhino conservation campaign in the park for a long time, said that the poachers have become active due to lack of regular patrols and security activities during this coronavirus pandemic.
He said that those who had recently completed their jail terms for poaching rhinos had returned to their former occupation after their release.
The park, in coordination with the Nature Conservation Fund, is also launching a skill-oriented programme for those who completed their jail sentence, along with their families, for killing rhinos, Baral said. He added that the park had also launched a special campaign for security as more and more rhinos are killed in recent years.
According to the 2015 census, there are a total of 645 rhinos in Nepal. Of them, 605 rhinos were found in Chitwan National Park alone. The highest number of rhinos in the park died in the fiscal year 2058/59. Of the 48 rhinos killed this year, 37 were killed by poachers, according to the park officials. For the past few years, the park had been celebrating zero poaching years.