Rhino killed in Chitwan sanctuary

CHITWAN, MAY 04 – Barely a few weeks after Nepal marked the second consecutive ‘ Zero Poaching Year ’, a rare one-horned rhino has been found dead in the Chitwan National Park (CNP), apparently killed by wildlife smugglers.

The poachers killed the rhino in the proposed Dobhan Buffer Zone Community Forest in Jagatpur VDC in the district on Friday night. The CNP officials and Nepal Army personnel found the dead rhino with its horns severed on Saturday morning.

According to Tikaram Poudel, the CNP spokesman and assistant conservation officer, the rhino was an adult male, approximately aged 25. He said the park officials and the NA personnel at Dhurba Post had heard gunshots on Friday night. A team of park officials and the security personnel, who were mobilised to scour the area, found the dead rhino the next morning.