A male rhino was found killed by poachers near Gaur Machan inside the Chitwan National Park on Friday taking the rhino toll to eight within the past couple of months. Deputy Conservation Officer Buddhi Raj Pathak claimed the latest death was also a result of poaching as the feet and horn of the rhino were missing. [break]
A female rhino was found dead on the bank of Narayani river near Pitauji Ghat on May 27. Park officials had speculated it to be a case of natural death as the rhino was not wounded.
A male rhino that was shot by poachers last month also died last Tuesday. Another male rhino was killed at the Kathar region of park on June 4 with the officials suspecting that it was drugged into unconsciousness before being killed.
Four rhinos had died inside the park during the indefinite strike called by the Maoists. Three of them were killed by poachers while a calf had died after the death of its mother. The younger rhinos have also come under threat as poachers have started to target females.
Despite all these killings, the administration has not been able to nab the poachers. The national park has come under pressure as most of the rhinos have been killed around the park office with the Nepal Army patrolling all the time.
“By the time the search team reaches the spot, the poachers make away with horn and feet,” concedes Chief Conservation Officer Narendraman Babu Pradhan.
“The poachers flee within 10 minutes. We have found fresh blood on many occasions. Those who complete the task within 10 minutes must be part of an organized outfit,” said Pradhan. He argues the bushes that have grown around the forest have also provided cover for the poachers making it difficult for the security persons to track them down.
Conservation officials claimed that a team that had come to Chitwan from center after four deaths in April also failed to provide concrete solutions.
According to the census in 2008, there were 400 rhinos in the park. However, 42 of them have already died with 25 of them killed as a result of poaching activity. Park authorities claim limited resources and personnel have also proved a hindrance in its efforts to curb rampant poaching.
Govt calls emergency meeting on Sunday
The government has said that it is alarmed by the rise in the number of rhino killings in Chitwan in the last two months. Following the killing incident on Friday, the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation has called an emergency meeting of the departments concerned, Chitwan National Park officials and the Nepal Army to discuss the matter.
"We will convene a meeting to see where we are lacking," Forest Minister Deepak Bohara told myrepublica.com. He also informed that officials have noticed a "similar trend" in the timing and style of killings of the protected one-horned rhino in the core Park area.
"The government is committed to saving the rhinos and we will do everything possible," Bohara added.
Meanwhile, Nepal Army officials have said that the army has "failed to check the poaching" which has been on the rise since the past two months.
"We have tried but failed to protect the rhinos in Chitwan from poachers," a highly-placed NA source told myrepublica.com on Saturday.
The source added that the NA must become better equipped to trace the poachers and make its vigilance more effective.
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