The greater one-horned rhino, with armour-like body plates and a solitary horn similar to its African breathren, is Nepal's local celebrity. The most common way to spy a rhino is by ricing on the back of an elephant, effortlessly traversing the park's jungle vegetation from an excellent vantage point. An option for braver souls is to track the rhino on a jungle walk. Test your tree-climbing skills before setting out.
Rhinos inhabit the alluvial flood-plain vegetation of sub-tropical climates where water and green grass is available all year. Many rhinos now live within blocks of the suitable rhino habitat in CNP. Rhinos occurred in highest densities along the flood plain grasslands and riverine forests bordering the Rapti, Narayani, Reu, and Dhungre rivers, suggesting that floodplain grasslands dominated by 4-6 m tall Saccharum spontanium are the single most critical habitat (Dinerstein and Price, 1991).
Grasslands interspersed with patches of riverine forests together make about 30% of the park area and have Saccharum spp., Narenga spp., and Themeda spp . (Shrestha, 1995). This grass species is the fundamental food resource of rhinos comprising more than 60% of the animal diet. Due to the flood and vegetation succession, the grassland may have decreased. Sal Shorea robusta forest associated with species such as Dillennia pentagyna, Syzigium cumini, Trijuga oleofera, Lagerstromia parviflora, Terminalia tomentosa, T. bellerica, and Phyllanthus emblica comprise 70% of the park area and are seldom eaten by rhinos.
Inundation by regular flooding of the alluvial plains along major rivers creates conditions favorable for the quick appearance of sprouts and germination to maintain the dominance of Saccharum spontaneum . This makes the monsoon flood very critical for maintaining rhino habitat. Oxbow lakes and other open water bodies are also important because the rhino spends about 8 hours in a day in wallows or streams during high humidity periods (August-September). In December and January, they spend at least an average of a day wallowing (Laurie, 1978).
In Nepal, the rhino population is estimated to be around 1,000 in the Chitwan Valley until 1950. The Rana rulers had been using the area for their leisure sport hunting. This made the areas inaccessible to the general public. Another factor that shielded the area from invasive human settlements was the rampant malaria in the area at that time. However, after the end of the Rana regime in 1950, there was also the eradication of malaria. This led the doors of Chitwan open to people from around the country leading to clearance of wildlife habitat for human settlements, agriculture and urbanization. This not only destroyed the forest but also affected the wildlife population mainly of the large mammals like tigers, elephants and rhinos. As a result, the rhino population dropped to less than 100 in the late 1960s.
Recognizing the urgency to avert the erratic diminishing of one-horned rhinoceros, Government of Nepal formulated the “Gainda Gasti”, am armed Rhino Patrol Unit in 1961, and declared the remaining prime rhino habitats, about 544 sq. km along Rapti, Narayani and Reu rivers, as the Chitwan National Park (CNP) in 1973. Later the park was extended to total coverage area of 932 sq. km and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1984 for its richness in biological diversity.
After the successful effort of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), the declining rhino population began to gradually increase. The CNP demonstrated that the population can rebound vigorously when sufficient habitat and protection are provided. It is an example of a population that was almost on the verge of extinction that has recovered while still maintaining a high genetic diversity.
Various organizations dedicated to conservation have been working for more than three decades to make the rhino population rebound through multiple strategies of protection, livelihood options, awareness campaigns and law enforcements. Today, it is a success story of how a species that was almost on the brink of extinction that has recovered while still upholding a high genetic diversity.
Since its establishment, Wildlife Conservation Nepal has been working for the protection and conservation of endangered animals like the one horned rhinoceros by supporting enforcement agencies like National Parks and District Forest authorities through critical information leading to arrests of poachers and traders. WCN also carries campaigns, trainings to concerned enforcement agencies to enhance their skills. Similarly, it has been conducting research and conservation awareness and advocacy programs at every sector and level of the society. With the support of different enforcement agencies, WCN has been able to bring down rhino poaching. Besides, in order to mitigate the rhino-human conflict, it promotes alternative livelihood programs at local level.
