"Rhinos sent to Bardiya earlier were not conserved. There is no guarantee that the present move will yield good result," said Madhukar Malla, President of CNP Buffer zone management committee. He added that locals at buffer zone are quite upset about the matter as rhinos and even tigers of CNP, which were taken to Bardiya earlier were killed by poachers. Malla further argued that the local's concerns must be considered by the government as they have been directly involved in conserving wild animals living in CNP.
"But the government did not feel the need to consult with us even once before deciding to make the move. Buffer zone residents have a huge share in conserving habitants in the area and they have the right to be part of any decision related to them," he opined further accusing the government of not consulting the locals in fear of protests from them.
Fanindra Raj Kharel, director general at the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Department confirmed the transfer informing that the transfer process is in final stage. The department shift rhinos and tigers from CNP to BNP in 2003. However, many of them died.
Many rhinos were shifted to BNP from Icharni area of the CNP in eastern Chitwan. Due to the transfer, locals claim that it has been very hard to find rhinos in the area now days. And the shift did not even benefited in increasing their population in BNP. Rhino census last year showed 645 rhinos nationwide of which 605 were from CNP alone. Their count in BNP stood at 29, though altogether 84 rhinos were shifted to BNP in the past from Chitwan.
Citing these facts, Malla questions, "Where are the rest of the rhinos?" Considering that CNP provided for a much better habitat to rhinos than BNP, rhinos were moved to CNP for the first time in 1984. And the present move of the government that contend historical lessons, have angered locals like Malla.
"First thing is that there are not many rhinos left in Chitwan anymore. On the other hand, rhinos don't get better habitat in Bardiya. We are strictly against this decision of the government. But who'd listen to us?" Malla lamented stressing on lack of security for rhinos and other wild life in BNP.
However, the supporters of this migration have a different story. Kharel claims that security situation in BNP is far better now. "Earlier, rhinos indeed died due to slack security, I agree with that. However, now we have added security posts. We hope that rhinos and other animals are not going to die due to lack of security," he said adding that the additional teams have been formed to ensure safer habitat. "Security challenge is stronger in Bardiya. So we have added posts and monitoring teams directed to be more vigilant." Elaborating further on the measures taken to ensure security of these rhinos, he said, "We are going to fit radio collar satellite trackers in the five rhinos we are preparing to shift to Bardiya from Chitwan."
However, events at BNP in the past seriously question the reliance on satellite trackers to ensure safety of wild animals, Mall says. Though this technology has been used by national parks for quite some time, it has not been able to provide safety to their wearer in the past, he asserts. A powerful satellite tracker was installed in BNP to monitor tigers in the area. A tiger fitted with satellite tracker was found injured in 2010. After providing medical treatment, the tiger was released into jungle. However it survived the poachers only four months. In September that year, it went missing. The tracker stopped sending signals. A five-day search operation for the tiger concluded after finding the tiger's stomach.
Forwarding this story of a satellite tracking fitted tiger's poaching in 2010 along with the evident lack of growth of rhinos in BNP for years, Malla, argues that the administration should rethink about its decision to move the rhinos. "The administration should take these decisions hastily by neglecting the fact the rhino population has not grown much in the last four years, despite the fact that there were no reports of poaching," he said further adding that the move is a serious concern for conservationists.
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