Postmortem found electric shock killed rhino in Chitwan

By Basanta Parajuli,Narayangadh, July 27: It was revealed that the female rhino that was found dead in Chitwan on July 23 was killed by an electric trap.

 Although the Chitwan National Park initially announced that the rhino died of natural causes, an autopsy performed on the animal’s body showed that the cause of death was an electric shock. 

The rhino’s body was found at Shiswar of Bharatpur Metropolitan City. Dr. Vijay Kumar Shrestha, a veterinarian at the park, said that the postmortem examination revealed that the rhino died of an electric shock.

“It is not unusual for a rhino to die of natural causes among human settlements, but the postmortem has indicated that an electric trap has killed the rhino,” he said.

The rhino was found dead near a cornfield close to the human settlement of Chitwan National Park. The postmortem was conducted under the leadership of Dr. Shrestha. It is unclear why the rhino was electrocuted, but the park authorities are investigating the incident.

Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, the information officer of the park, said that some suspects were arrested and an investigation had begun. “Based on the information that an electric shock killed the rhino, we are currently conducting a study. The suspects are being interrogated after extending their remand,” he said. 

However, he did not disclose any details about the suspects.

In the past, rhinos in the park have either been killed by poachers using electric traps or by farmers trying to protect their crops. As the horns and hooves of the rhino were unbroken, park officials suspect that farmers may have killed the rhino to protect their crops. Tiwari said that a report on the rhino’s death would be made public. 

On January 24, 2023, two rhinos were killed by poachers using electric traps in the western part of the park, in Amaltari.

According to park statistics, 21 rhinos died in Chitwan in the fiscal year 2023/24. Among these, 18 died from natural causes, two from poaching, and the cause of death of a rhino remains unknown, according to Tiwari. 

Similarly, 22 rhinos died in the fiscal year 2022/23. Out of these, two died from poaching and the remaining 20 from natural causes.

 Recently, natural causes have been the leading cause of rhino deaths compared to poaching. Chitwan is the major habitat for the rare rhinoceros species.