If the statistics provided for the number of endangered animals sheltered in the sanctuary is anything to go by, the number of wildlife species, which came down sharply in the park area during the latter years of Maoist conflict, has gradually increased in recent years.
Park officials claim that the improvement seen can be attributed to the joint security arrangement that has been put in place by the park management and the Nepal Army.
Protecting the one-horn rhino has been the greatest challenge faced by the park officials in recent months, due to the increasing targeting of the animal by poachers. Altogether, seven rhinos were killed by poachers and six others died of natural causes in the last one year alone.
Even so, the rhino population has not dwindled to extremely alarming proportions, according to Assistance Protection Officer Ashok Bhandari. “The conservation efforts have been as successful as we expected them to be,” he said.
In 1994, there were about 466 rhinos in Chitwan National Park, up from about 100 rhinos in 1967. And the number shot up to 544 in 2001.
But the lenient security measures in the succeeding years, a by-product of the Maoist conflict, led to many rhinos succumbing to poachers. The number of rhinos decreased to 372 in 2005, forcing the park management to devise a new security strategy to curb poaching activities. Counter-measures taken by the park included the park management´s increasing the number of security posts in the sanctuary to 45, from the previous seven posts.
The rhino numbers have thus dipped and risen with the carrying out of measures taken by the park officials, and with the civil conflict now over, the outlook has been better. A census conducted last year calculated the rhino population to be 408. And there´s more good news on the way. The sanctuary was recently blessed with the birth of five brand new baby rhinos.
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