One-horned rhino in Nepal
The one-horned rhino is one of the planet’s most endangered species and in the 70s was very near to extinction, there were only about 600 in the wild in 1975, most in Nepal and India. But it’s making a comeback and the numbers in Nepal alone have risen to 645.
Most are in the country’s Chitwan National Park and officials there are aided by the Nepalese army in keeping poachers at bay. Rhino horns are valued in some cultures for their unproved medicinal benefits and poachers once killed dozens a year, selling the horns and other parts on the black market.
“At a time when the world is facing difficulties to protect and conserve the wildlife, including rhinos, Nepal has seen an extraordinary improvement in wildlife conservation,” Diwakar Chapagain of the World Wildlife Fund told media.
“It is definitely a rare successful conservation story in the world, where park officials and the Nepalese army have managed to succeed in anti-poaching activities.”
Nepal army fights poachers
The warden of the park, Kamal Jung Kunwar, accented the role of the army and said that the numbers being given over to anti-poaching are significant. While the courts have been streamlined to deal more quickly and efficiently with poachers, it’s the army’s presence, their constant patrolling, that is enabling the rhino population to grow.
“Normally one battalion of army is deployed in Chitwan National Park,” Kunwar said. “That’s 1,100 men, and more are added according to need. There has been 24/7 patrolling going that has resulted into this success.”
The success of protecting the thick-skinned beast in Nepal is echoed elsewhere. Numbers released in 2011 saw the wild Rhino population in the world at 2,913; along with Nepal, most are in various regions of India.
Overall, the rhino population is growing at about 5 percent each year.
