Chitwan, November 30
Eight people have been arrested in Chitwan National Park along with two rhino horns.
The horns are believed to be of the two rhinos that were killed on November 16.
Following their death, the Nepal Army along with the national park administration and Central Investigation Bureau were on the lookout for poachers.
The police arrested two people less than 10 days after the rhinos were found dead. Six more people were then arrested from Rapti Municipality in Chitwan on November 25 and November 27.
The poachers were trying to sell the rhino horns.
A team was formed under the coordination of the Deputy Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Bedkumar Dhakal, to conduct a field study on the recent rhino deaths in the national park.
The team submitted its report to the Director General of the Department Sindhu Prasad Dhungana on November 28.
Concerns were raised as two rhinos were killed using old techniques inside the national park. Ganesh Prasad Tiwari, the park’s information officer, said that in the aftermath of the incident, the park administration, the Nepali Army, and the Central Investigation Bureau of the Nepal Police were promptly mobilised.
Tiwari said a press conference is being held on Thursday to make the poachers public.
In the course of the armed conflict, poachers killed as many as 38 rhinos in a single year. However, in recent years, there has been a notable decline in wildlife poaching, with some years marked by the celebration of zero poaching incidents in the park.
As reported by the park, two rhinos fell victim to poachers in the previous year. The latest census reveals a current rhino population of 694 within Chitwan National Park, contributing to the overall count of 752 rhinos in Nepal.
During the armed conflict, up to 38 rhinoceros were killed by smugglers in one year. In recent years, wildlife poaching has decreased. In some years, the park celebrated zero poaching years.
According to the park, two rhinos were killed by poachers last year. According to the latest count, there are 694 rhinos in Chitwan National Park and 752 rhinos in total in the country.
