109 one-horned rhinos relocated

Chitwan National Park (CNP) is home to the most of the population of endangered one-horned Asiatic rhinos   and it has become the best place for their habitat.     

There are 694 one-horned rhinos in the CNP, covering a total of 952.63 square meters area. According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, 102 rhinos were relocated to Bardiya National Park, Shuklaphanta National Park and Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve from CNP from 1986-2023 with the objective of establishing a new breeding group. 

Similarly, the internal translocation of additional seven rhinos was completed in the CNP as well as relocated to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve this March, according to Department’s information officer and senior ecologist, Shyam Kumar Shah. He mentioned that 26 rhinos were gifted to different countries during the period. Nepal for the first time had gifted four rhinos to India’s Dudhwa National Park in 1985. As per the Department’s record, it had gifted 22 rhinos to the United States of America, Germany, Singapore, Bangladesh, the UK, Japan, Austria and China in different time period till 2018. 

According to the CNP, the rhinos were translocated internally to the CNP and shifted to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in the recent period after the growth rate of the rhinos found to decrease following their increasing density of rhinos at the western area of the CNP-based on a feasibility study of internal translocation. Based on the feasibility study, a secretary-level decision of the Ministry of Forest and Environment held on February 7, six rhinos were shifted to the eastern area from the western area of the CNP from March 15. The Department has set a goal of developing a ‘Rhino Century’ at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. As per the goal, two female rhinos named Pushpa and Anjali were relocated to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve from CNP on September 27, 2023, on the occasion of World Tourism Day.