Asian One Horned Rhino

Asian One-horned Rhino

Currently, five types of rhinos are found in the world. Of them, two species, black and white, are found in Africa, two - the Javan and Sumatran - are found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the remaining Asian one-horned rhinoceros is found only in South Asia. Its scientific name is Rhinoceros unicornis, which is made up of Greek and Latin words. In Greek, the word ‘rhino’ means nose, and ‘ceros’ means horn. Similarly, in Latin, ‘uni’ means one and ‘cornis’ means nose. This rhinoceros, known as the Asian one-horned rhinoceros, is a peculiar animal and is found only in Nepal, India and Bhutan. The highest concentration of this animal is found in the four protected areas of Nepal and in some protected areas of north-eastern India.

There were 544 rhinos in Chitwan in 2000 (total 612 in Nepal), of which only 372 remained in 2005. According to the rhino count of 2008, there were 408 rhinos in Chitwan, 22 in Bardia and five in Shuklaphanta: in total, 435. The census conducted in 2011 has, however, revealed an increase of 99 rhinos since the last count in 2008. The Chitwan National Park was found to have 503 rhinos, while 24 reside in the Bardia National Park, and the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve protects seven. Thus, Nepal’s population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros has increased to 534. According to the Rhino count of 2015, 605 rhinos in Chitwan, 29 in Bardia, eight in Suklaphanta and three in Parsa National Parks in total 645. The 2021 national rhino census has updated one-horned rhino population to 752 individuals. Out of these 694 are in Chitwan, 38 in Bardia, 17 in Shuklaphanta and three in Parsa National Parks.

The rhino is a very rare and endangered wild animal, and it is a huge mammal. Its natural habitats are the riverbanks and grasslands. The one-horned rhinoceros is the second biggest animal among the land animals. In Eastern civilization, it is considered a holy animal, and our religious texts like the Vedas and Puranas also make mention of it.

The rhino is a part of the Rhinocerotidae family. Studies of the rhino’s ancestors show that 50 million years ago, they branched from the Equidae family. The one-horned rhinoceros was previously found in many countries of Asia like Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and China. By mid 20th century, it died out in many places due to habitat destruction and massive and rampant poaching, and rhinos survived only in some parts of Nepal and India.

Though male and female rhinos look alike, male rhinos are slightly larger. A male rhino’s average weight is 2,000-3,000 kgs (4,900-6,600 pounds), and a female rhino weighs about 1,600 kgs (3,500 pounds). Their height varies from 1.7 to 2 metres (5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet 7 inches). The male and female both have a single horn. The horn is a bunch of hairs that grow on the rhino’s nose. The baby rhino does not have a horn. The average length of a horn is 25 cm (9.8 inches), however, horns of 57.2 cm (22.5 inches) at most have also been recorded. The average weight of a horn of an Asian one-horned rhinoceros varies from 800 to 1,000 grams. The horn is not connected to the head or skull in any way. The horn continuously grows throughout the life of the rhino, and if lost, it grows back.

The rhino has a thick skin, silver-brown in colour, and is pinkish where the skin is folded. The male has a thicker skin at the neck compared to the female. There is very little hair on the skin, with some hair on the eyes, ears and tail. Rhinos have very big and strong legs with three hooves.

Rhinos like to live in the wetlands or grassy lands, but sometimes they are found in the forests or riverbanks. They usually like to roam alone. However, they like to be in a group while wallowing in water. The baby rhino remains with its mother until it is four years old. The male remains with the female only while mating. Each has a home range of 2-8 square kilometres. Sometimes the home ranges overlap. When this happens, there are dangerous fights between the male rhinos. There are also fights between dominant males and new males looking for mating partners. These fights are very deadly. During the fights, they strike each other with their teeth that are as sharp as swords. The horn does not play any significant role in the fights. Female rhinos can also charge fiercely if they have babies with them.

Rhinos can make up to 10 different sounds. If a male rhino feels that it is in danger from external forces, it throws urine to a distance of 3-4 metres. Rhinos have the strange habit of walking backwards to the same spot to defecate every time. Due to this habit, until a few years ago, poachers would look for the place where a rhino regularly defecated and dig ditches on the way. The poachers would kill the rhino with spears after it fell into the ditch.

In summer days, rhinos like to wallow in the lakes, ponds, rivers and marshy mud holes. They can swim very well. While they are young, they face danger from the tigers and not so much from other animals. They can run at a speed of approximately 55 km per hour. They also have keen senses of smell and hearing. However, they do not have good eyesight. They can hardly see a hundred metres. The cattle egrets that sit on top of the rhinos eat small insects from their body and warn them of any impending dangers. They have a mutual relationship.

Rhinos are herbivores. Their major food is grass, but they also consume plants, leaves, branches and fruits in or near water. The fruits of a common riverine forest tree found in Chitwan, local name Vellar (Trewia nudiflora) called “rhino apple”, become important food source for rhinos. Vellar forest is also called “the cooler” for rhinos during summer. They set out in the morning and evening for food, and graze all night. Sometimes, they eat crops from the nearby farms.

In zoos, female rhinos are ready to give birth by the age they are four, but in a natural setting, they are usually ready to reproduce only at the age of six. Their pregnancy normally lasts for 16 months and sometimes can extend up to 19 months. They give birth to one baby at a time. They give birth to another calf only when one is fully grown.

The male rhino is ready to mate at the age of five. In a zoo, a rhino gets to mate easily when it is of age. In a natural habitat though, it might not get to mate even in an advanced age because of the dominance of stronger males. The new male only gets a chance if it can defeat the dominant rhino in a fight. A recent study has shown that, typically, a rhino needs to be 15 years old before it can defeat the dominant rhino. Though rhinos do not have a specific mating season, they normally mate between February and April.

Challenge to Rhino Conservation

Currently, poaching is the biggest challenge to rhino conservation. Rhinos were hunted in large numbers in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. With the beginning of the Rana regime, hunting and poaching became the major causes of the rhinos’ destruction in Nepal. The most prolific hunters were the British and Nepali royalty. Records reveal that as many as 39 rhinos were killed in one hunting trip in Nepal, which was a hunting diplomacy. One army officer killed 200 rhinos in Assam of India. In 1950’s only 12 rhinos were remained in India.

In 1950, there were still 800-1,000 rhinos in Chitwan. But deforestation due to increasing pressure of the migrants from the hills and poaching would lead to the death of more than 700 rhinos between 1950 and 1970 in Chitwan. By 1970, there were only 70-100 rhinos in Nepal. They had become extinct in the western (Bardia) region of Nepal. The rhino had thus become extremely rare and endangered.

The establishment of the Chitwan National Park in 1973 saw a pause in poaching for about a decade. However, 20 rhinos were poached between 1984 and 1991, and 18 more were killed in just one year in 1992. In 1995, poaching was under control for a short period, but again between August 1996 and October 1999, 20 rhinos were killed. In December 1999, one rhino was killed.

The following year in 2000, poaching increased dramatically. That year, 34 rhinos died. Of them, 25 had died of natural causes while seven were shot, one was poisoned and one was found dead in the rice fields of the buffer zone. It is unfortunate that even at the beginning of the 21st century, the poaching of rhinos continues unabated in Nepal. Since horns are used to make traditional Chinese Medicines, they command a good price in the international market. Rhinos are also dwindling due to the destruction of their habitat.

In 2001, 26 rhinos were found dead. Of them, 11 had died of natural causes while 15 had been shot by poachers. In 2002, a total number of 51 rhinos had died, of which 13 had died of natural causes while at least 35 had been shot dead. Besides, two rhinos were electrocuted to death and one was poisoned.

I was deputed to the Chitwan National Park at the beginning of 2003. The task of conserving rhinos was truly challenging then. Rhino poaching was at its peak. On the 24th, 25th and 26th of February 2003, one rhino was found dead every day. In 2003, of the 35 rhinos found dead, one had been electrocuted and at least 21 had been poached. As in the previous year, only 13 had died of natural causes.

In 2004, 27 rhinos were found dead. Of them, 10 had been poached, two poisoned while 15 had died of natural causes. In 2005, 22 rhinos had died, of whom 13 had been poached and one electrocuted. That year, only eight rhinos had died of natural causes. The following year, 20 rhinos died - 11 were shot, one was poisoned and one was electrocuted, while seven had died of natural causes. Luckily in 2007, not many rhinos met an untimely death through poaching and natural causes. Only two rhinos were killed by poachers while seven had died of natural causes.

Concept of National Parks

Up until 1951, when the 104-year-old family rule of the Ranas came to an end, the Chitwan Valley was a hunting preserve of the British and Nepalese royalty as well as the Ranas. The Ranas frequently invited the British royalty visiting India on hunting trips to Chitwan in a bid to appease them. The Kasara building - the first concrete structure to be built in Nepal and now the office of the Chitwan National Park – was built in 1939 for the very purpose of hunting. A close study of history reveals that the British and Nepalese royalty and the Ranas were the first hunters of rhinos in Nepal.

Prime Minister Chandra Shumshere Rana invited British King George V of Britain to Chitwan jungle for a hunt in 1911. According to an article published in New York Times in 1912 the King History records that he had then hunted 37 tigers, 19 rhinos, four bears in addition to lesser game. The Prince of Wales and his party had similarly killed 17 tigers, 10 rhinos, two leopards and two bears in 1921. Another devastating hunt took place in 1939, when Prime Minister Juddha Shumshere Rana invited the British Viceroy - Victor Alexander John Hope, Marquis of Linlithgow - to Chitwan. The viceroy as well as princes and princesses of Europe, including those of Britain, had on a single hunting trip killed 120 tigers, 38 rhinos, 27 leopards and 15 bears.

The concept of national parks first developed with the establishment of the Yellow Stone National Park in America in 1873. Initially, many such protected areas were established in North America. Gradually, such areas were set up in European countries, Australia, New Zealand and other countries. In the 1970s, national parks also got established in South Asian countries, including Nepal.

After the fall of the Rana regime, the Malaria Eradication Programme and Rapti Valley Settlement Programme were introduced simultaneously, which encouraged the clearing of forests to make room for new settlements in Chitwan. As a result, the population of Chitwan grew three-fold in the 1950s.

In 1957, the area between Tikauli and the Mahabharat range was declared a “rhino sanctuary”, and this was the first step towards wildlife management. Also at this time, Gaida Gasti, or armed “Rhino Patrol”, was put into operation to protect the rhinos. Due to heavy deforestation and rampant poaching, there was a sharp drop in the number of wild animals during the 1950s. Given this alarming situation, E.P. Gill, on behalf of the Flora and Fauna Preservation Society (FFPS) Mission to Nepal, in 1959 proposed setting up a national park to the north of the Rapti River and a rhino sanctuary to the south.

He again visited Chitwan in 1963 as a representative of The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and FFPS. This time, he suggested that the area to the south of the Rapti River also be converted into a national park. In 1963, the area to the south of the Rapti was declared a rhino sanctuary. In the same year, a national-level committee for land reform was instituted. The then assistant minister was also a member of the high-level committee which was given all rights to expel people who had illegally encroached upon government land and settled down. The committee found that 20,000 people had illegally occupied government land and were removed. Out of the 20,000 illegal occupants, 4,000 had captured land belonging to the rhino sanctuary.

In 1970, a wildlife conservation specialist was appointed with the help of the United Nations Development Programme/Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNDP/FAO). He too proposed that the area to the south of the Rapti be declared a national park. By April 1971, the borders of the national park were fixed by a survey team whose coordinator was Bishwo Nath Upreti. But the national park actually started functioning only after WWF provided substantial assistance to the park in October 1971. Thus, Flora and Fauna Preservation Society, IUCN, UNDP/FAO, WWF and other organisations played prominent roles in the establishment of the Chitwan National Park.

In 1973, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act was passed. That same year, the Chitwan National Park was declared the first national park of Nepal. Its area was increased from 540 sq. km. to 932 sq. km. in 1977.

This step proved to be a milestone in the annals of conservation. With assistance from FAO and UNDP, the government founded the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Project and even appointed a game warden. The first warden of the park was Tirthaman Maskey. The project was initiated in 1976, and 18 guards and two assistant wardens were appointed. The project set up the necessary infrastructure like guard posts, warden quarters, drinking water, roads, forest paths and fences, and handed them over to the government.

It is generally believed that during the party less Panchayat System and after, the royal family played an important role in the initiation and sustenance of wildlife conservation efforts. But it should be noted that at that point of time, the need for conservation was felt throughout the world, and there was a corresponding wave of establishing national parks and other protected areas. Several conventions of a global level had accepted proposals regarding the matter and had started implementing them. In Nepal, several locations noted for their biodiversity, like the Chitwan Valley, were slowly being destroyed. In such a scenario, the declaration of protected areas was a pressing necessity for the nation, regardless of the regime in power.

Protected Areas in Nepal

The 12 national parks, one wildlife reserves and one hunting reserve cover a total area of 13,157 sq. km. Chitwan, Bardia, Banke Shuklaphanta, Parsa National Parks and and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserves are located in the Terai (lowland), Inner Terai and fragile Chure regions. These protected areas cover a total area of 13,157 sq. km. Koshi Tappu is actually a frequently flooded plain of the Koshi River. Major parts of the Parsa Wildlife Reserve fall within the Chure hills and in the dry Bhawar regions. Major parts of the Chitwan National Park lie within the Chure hills and Duban Chhetra, the flooded land of the Narayani, Rapti and Reu Rivers in the summer. Parts of the Bardia and Banke National Parks lie in the Chure hills and parts in the summer flooded land of the Karnali and Babai Rivers. Many parts of Shuklaphanta also lie in the summer flooded land of the Mahakali River and so the parks and reserves areas are not suitable for agriculture or for human settlement.

Most of the remaining protected areas lie in the mountains and Himalayan regions. However, 15,425.95 sq. km. of land attributed to six conservation areas also include agricultural and residential areas. In these areas, the local communities participate in programmes for the conservation and management of biodiversity as well as sustainable development. Similarly, 5,422 sq. km. of communal forest, marginal lands, agricultural and residential area have been declared as buffer zones.

Thus, protected areas occupy an area of 34,185.62 sq. km. in total, which accounts for 23.23 per cent of Nepal’s total area. The protected areas in the Terai and Inner Terai, ranging from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve to the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, occupy an area of 3,429 sq. km., of which 50 per cent can be used for agricultural or residential purposes.

In the past, certain rights-based non-governmental organisations had attempted to disparage the conservation efforts by claiming that protected areas occupy 23.23 percent of the country’s total area. However, in truth, protected areas only cover 1,714.5 sq. km. of arable and residential land (In the Terai and Inner Terai) which is about 1 per cent of the country’s area.