“We have records that rhinos roamed the floodplains of the Koshi before the 1950s,” Pant said. The committee is thus preparing to recommend to the government that the trio of rescued rhinos be moved to Koshi Tappu, home to the endangered wild buffalos and rare birds but, notably, devoid of apex predators such as tigers. “We’ve seen that even enclosures aren’t safe in these areas.” “In Bardiya, Chitwan and Shuklaphanta, we have tigers as apex predators that can kill these rhinos,” Pant said. “The first is to relocate them to an enclosure in Chitwan National Park itself, and the second is to translocate them to Bardiya, Shuklaphanta or Koshi Tappu.”Įach option, however, has its own sets of challenges. “We have come up with different alternatives for the three rhinos,” said Ganesh Pant, an ecologist with the department and a member of the reintroduction committee. Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in eastern Nepal, long viewed as a potential habitat for rhinos, has none. Nearby Parsa National Park has just three rhinos, while farther west, Bardiya National Park has 38 and Shuklaphanta National Park has 17. The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation recently formed a committee to suggest ways, including translocation to other national parks, to address these challenges.Īccording to a 2021 census report, Chitwan is home to 694 greater-one-horned rhinos, a threatened species. Key challenges in readying these rhinos for a return to the wild include finding suitable habitat for them, and then drawing up a plan to gradually get them habituated to living away from humans and their interventions. “We have reasons to believe that Pushpa and Anjali were first-borns that didn’t receive adequate care and Pooja was separated from her mother when attacked by a tiger,” Sadaula added. “Sometimes the mother dies during delivery and other times calves get separated from their mothers due to attacks by predators such as tigers or natural calamities like floods. Amir Sadaula, a veterinarian with the NTNC. “Generally, female rhinos in their first pregnancy are inexperienced about motherhood and they don’t provide adequate care to their calf,” said Dr. All of them were only a week-old when they were brought to the trust. Pushpa was rescued three years ago, Anjali two years ago, and Pooja in October last year. They’ve named the three rhinos, all females, Pushpa, Anjali and Pooja. Juvenile rhinos Pushpa and Anjali graze as Pooja watches on in Chitwan, Nepal. Officials now face the daunting challenge of sending them back out into the wild, ensuring that they can survive amid threats from predators and poachers. These greater one-horned rhinos ( Rhinoceros unicornis), now habituated to living with humans, were rescued from different parts of the national park after being separated from their mothers.
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