Chitwan, March 22
Nepal is beginning a national rhino census on Monday after a gap of six years.
Earlier, the count of the endangered one-horned rhinoceros was repeatedly halted in 2019 and 2020 due to the budget crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic respectively.
Mainly, four national parks of Nepal–Chitwan, Parsa, Bardiya, and Shuklaphanta–house the species, with the Chitwan National Park being the largest habitat.
In 2015, there were 645 rhinos in Nepal. Of them, more than 600 were in Chitwan.
The count will begin in Chitwan and Parsa today whereas Bardiya and Shuklaphanta will begin on March 30 and April 1 respectively.
Officials say the count will be over in two weeks in all four parks, and the results will be out in the third week of April.
Officials fear a decrease in the number of the valued species as the number of rhinos dying natural death has increased of late although the poaching was significantly controlled until one incident in September last year.
