topic: One-horned Rhinos

topic: One-horned Rhinos

Social media activity version | Lean version

Nepal mulls policy shift to allow hotels back into tiger strongholds
- Nepal’s Ministry of Forest and Environment is working new regulations to permit hotels to operate within national parks like Chitwan, a draft of the document seen by Mongabay suggests.
- The decision follows the closure of seven hotels in Chitwan National Park in 2009 due to ecological concerns and alleged involvement in poaching, with the last of them shutting down in 2012.
- Despite opposition from conservationists and local communities, the government has shown interest in allowing commercial activities, including large-scale hydropower plants, within national parks, raising concerns about environmental degradation.

Nepali experts question rhino relocation within park for population balance
- Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation relocated five one-horned rhinos from Chitwan National Park’s western region to its eastern side on March 21 to balance the distribution of the animal’s population and reduce competition and fighting for limited resources.
- Factors contributing to low rhino numbers on the east include changes in the Rapti River due to human settlement, which reshaped the riverbed, and the closure of settlements and hotels leading to habitat alterations.
- Conservationists question the efficacy of translocation, suggesting habitat restoration and water management as more sustainable approaches. Government officials promise efforts to manage suitable habitats for rhinos in the eastern sector.

In biodiverse Nepal, wildlife crime fighters are underpowered but undeterred
- Wildlife crime investigators in Nepal face various challenges, such as lack of training, resources, evidence and database, as well as political and legal pressure.
- They’re responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases related to the hunting and trafficking of iconic species such as tigers, rhinos, snow leopards and pangolins.
- A key obstacle, many say, is a constitutional provision that now requires more serious cases of wildlife crime to be tried before a court; prior to 2015, all such cases would be heard by district forest offices and protected area offices.
- Change is slowly coming, however, with additional training in scientific investigative methods, most recently funded by the U.S. State Department, and with transfer of knowledge.

Conservationists urge caution as Nepal to gift more rhinos to China
- Nepal has committed to providing a pair of one-horned rhinos to China, as one gifted in 2018 died due to stomach ailments.
- Conservationists say orphaned rhino calves raised in human contact are best for this purpose.
- Separating rhino calves from their mothers should be the last option, conservationists say.

A rhino-less reserve in Nepal is set to get its first two rhino habitants
- Two wild-born and captive-raised rhinos will be moved from Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve on World Tourism Day, Sept. 27, to boost tourism and biodiversity in eastern Nepal.
- The rhinos, both female, were rescued as calves after being abandoned by their mothers, and raised in a rehabilitation center outside Chitwan, where they’ve since become habituated to humans.
- The translocation is part of a larger effort to create viable populations of greater one-horned rhinos across Nepal, which has seen its rhino population grow from just 100 in 1966 to more than 750 at present.
- Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, has no rhinos, but it also lacks tigers, which means it should be a safer environment for the two young transplants to adapt to.

Wild or not? Dilemma over two human-friendly rhinos in Nepal
- Two female rhinos, raised in human care and later released in the wild, pose a threat to themselves and people, conservationists warn.
- The rhinos are vulnerable to poaching and human interference, as they are habituated to living with humans.
- Conservationists demand the removal of the rhinos to a safer place, while park officials hope they will adapt to the wilderness.

Nepal’s rhinos are eating plastic waste, study finds
- A study found plastic waste in the dung of one-horned rhinos in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, which could harm their health and survival.
- The plastic waste comes from the rivers that flood the park during monsoon season, as well as from visitors who litter the park.
- The study suggested that the government and its conservation partners should conduct clean-up programs and implement sustainable waste management plans to protect the rhinos, which are a vulnerable species.

Landmark Nepal court ruling ends impunity for wealthy wildlife collectors
- Wildlife collectors in Nepal will have to declare their collections to the government, under a landmark ruling spurred by the perceived injustice of the country’s strict wildlife protection laws.
- The May 30 Supreme Court ruling caps a legal campaign by conservationist Kumar Paudel to hold to account wealthy Nepalis who openly display wildlife parts and trophies, even as members of local communities are persecuted for suspected poaching.
- Under the ruling, the government must issue a public notice calling on private collectors to declare their wildlife collections, and must then seize those made after 1973, the year the wildlife conservation act came into effect.
- Conservationists and human rights advocates have welcomed the ruling, but say “only time will tell if the government will take this court order seriously or not.”

Low-key return for rescued rhino calves to Nepal’s Chitwan National Park
- Two of three rhino calves rescued from the wild have been returned to Nepal’s Chitwan National Park in what officials say was a “low-key and low-cost” release.
- The two female greater one-horned rhinos had been cared for at a facility on the outskirts of the park after being abandoned by their mothers.
- Officials had debated whether to move them to other parks with smaller rhino populations or to gift them to foreign countries as part of Nepal’s “rhino diplomacy.”
- A third rhino calf, rescued last October following a tiger attack, is also expected to be released back into Chitwan once she’s deemed old enough and ready to take care of herself.

For rescued rhino calves in Nepal, return to the wild is a fraught option
- Conservation officials in Nepal are considering what to do with three juvenile rhinos rescued from the wild after being separated from their mothers.
- One option is to return them to the wild in a national park or wildlife reserve with suitable habitat — but with the risk that they could fall prey to tigers. Rhino translocations in Nepal have a poor record — only 38 of 95 rhinos transferred from Chitwan to Bardiya National Park survive, with the rest killed by poachers or farmers.
- That leaves a third option on the table, which is to gift the animals to a foreign country, as part of Nepal’s “rhino diplomacy,” which would leave the young animals facing a lifetime in human company.

Rare case of rhino poaching jolts conservation community in Nepal
- A rare case of rhino poaching in Nepal has sent alarm bells ringing among conservationists, who say the method used could easily be replicated throughout the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, the rhinos’ stronghold.
- Poachers appeared to have electrocuted a female rhino and her calf using a cable connected to a nearby temple’s power supply.
- Conservation officials say there’s a large number of grid-connected temples and other community buildings throughout Chitwan’s buffer zone that could serve a similar purpose.
- The incident is a rare setback for Nepal, which recorded zero rhino losses to poachers in six of the past 12 years, and only six poaching-related kills out of 165 rhinos that died in the past five years.

Study finds high prevalence of gut parasites in Nepal’s rhinos
- A high prevalence of tapeworms and other parasites in the greater one-horned rhinos of Chitwan National Park in Nepal has raised concerns about the threatened species.
- A new study suggests the problem is an unintended consequence of decades of successful rhino conservation, leading to a growing number of the animals roaming outside the park and into areas also frequented by livestock.
- A similar high prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites has also been recorded in India’s Kaziranga National Park.
- The authors of the new study emphasize that the parasites don’t kill the rhinos, although they may affect their metabolism or cause disease during periods of stress.

Low genetic diversity is part of rhinos’ long-term history, study says
- A new study that reconstructs the rhino family tree by analyzing the genomes of all five living rhino species and three extinct species has found that low genetic diversity is part of rhinos’ long-term history.
- The study also found evidence to support the geographic hypothesis of rhino evolution, which places the two African species in a separate group from the three Asian species.
- However, genetic diversity is lowest and inbreeding highest in present-day rhinos, suggesting that recent human-driven population declines have impacted rhino genetics.
- Nonetheless, the study says rhinos appear to have adapted well to low genetic diversity and small populations sizes and recommends conservation efforts focus on increasing rhino numbers.

At India’s Assam Zoo, decades of experience lead to rhino-breeding success
- Assam State Zoo in northeastern India has been breeding greater one-horned rhinos in captivity since the 1960s.
- However, until 2011 the country lacked a formal, nationally coordinated program dedicated to maintaining a viable captive population of the species, which is considered by the IUCN to be vulnerable to extinction due to poaching.
- India launched an official captive-breeding initiative in 2011. One calf has already been born at the Assam Zoo as part of the program, and another is on the way. An additional six have been born in the Patna Zoo in India’s Bihar state.

For India’s flood-hit rhinos, refuge depends increasingly on humans
- Kaziranga National Park in India’s Assam state is home to almost 70 percent of the world’s 3,500 greater one-horned rhinos.
- The park regularly floods during monsoon season. This natural phenomenon is essential to the ecosystem, but can be deadly for animals: 400 animals died in the 2017 floods, including more than 30 rhinos. This year, around 200 animals have died so far, including around a dozen rhinos.
- With increased infrastructure and tourism development around the park, animals’ natural paths to higher ground are often blocked.
- Authorities have responded by building artificial highlands within the park. Some criticize this approach, but park officials credit the highlands for reducing the death toll of this year’s floods.

On World Rhino Day, looking back on an eventful year
- September 22 marks World Rhino Day, a global event established to celebrate the world’s five rhinoceros species, and to reflect on the challenges facing them.
- The year that has elapsed since World Rhino Day 2018 has been a eventful one for rhino conservation.
- Here, we look back at Mongabay’s coverage of some of the biggest stories from both Africa and Asia.

Nepal to conduct, self-fund, rhino census in March 2020
- In 2019 a planned rhino census in Nepal was called off after wildlife officials failed to raise the necessary funds from donors.
- The country’s finance ministry recently announced that will support a new rhino census, to be held in March 2020. The government has allocated 11 million rupees of the total 16 million rupees ($140,000) the census is estimated to cost.
- Nepal has succeeded in virtually eliminating rhino poaching, but large numbers of rhinos have died of unknown or natural causes in the country’s sanctuaries, adding urgency to calls for a new census to be held.
- The decision to self-fund the census comes as the government is promoting a variety of populist, nationalist projects.

Calls for natural solution over man-made one in flood-ravaged rhino refuge
- Kaziranga National Park in India, the global stronghold of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, has 144 artificial highlands built to help animals find refuge during the annual floods that hit the region.
- Experts say the artificial highlands are merely temporary solutions and won’t be beneficial over the long term.
- Some say the artificial highlands will lead to more erosion and siltation in the grasslands than occurs naturally. Moreover, only rhinos seem to be using the artificial highlands, while other animals tend to move toward natural highlands in neighboring hills.
- The real solution, some experts say, lies in keeping the migration routes that the animals follow to reach their natural highlands free of human settlements and commercial establishments.

Death on the Brahmaputra: The rhino, the rangers, and the usual suspects
- In February 2018, a greater one-horned rhino wandered from India’s Orang National Park into the nearby Burachapori-Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary.
- In September 2018, officials lost track of the rhino. In June 2019, the rhino’s buried remains, and a bullet, were discovered close to a guard camp in Burachapori-Laokhowa.
- Officials in Burachapori-Laokhowa did not officially report the rhino missing until the matter was leaked to the press more than a month later.
- Suspicion has been cast, variously, on forest staff, illegal settlers and illegal fishers.

Is the rhino horn trade a cartel? Economic analysis suggests it works like one
- Economist Adrian Lopes used data modeling to explore the links between rhino horn suppliers in India and South Africa.
- His findings suggest a market model in which suppliers in the two countries collude rather than compete, setting a quantity and price that maximizes profits all around.
- Lopes’s research also indicates that stricter conservation laws can reduce the number of rhinos being killed, but that corruption and institutional instability can erode those gains.

Keeping stray rhinos safe is a challenge on fringes of Nepal park
- Since 2018, two rhinos have fallen into septic tanks in settlements near Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, one of which died.
- These incidents highlight the difficulties in keeping wandering rhinos safe amid a building boom in the park’s buffer zones.
- Park authorities and municipal officials have traded blame over who should be responsible for developing and enforcing wildlife-friendly building codes.
- Adding to the problem, many residents lack the resources to plan buildings according to existing codes, much less the more stringent standards of wildlife-friendly codes, and enforcement is already a challenge

Homestay programs in Nepal’s rhino hub hold promise and pitfalls for locals
- When faced with criticism that local people don’t benefit from wildlife tourism to Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, officials and conservationists point to homestay programs set up in communities on the park’s borders.
- These homestay programs aim to provide the communities with alternative livelihoods and to create an incentive to protect forests and wildlife.
- In the villages of Amaltari and Barauli, two very different homestay programs have been established, catering to different groups of visitors. Both models have their strengths, but also their shortcomings.

No rhino census this year as Nepal runs short of funds for survey
- A planned census of Nepal’s greater one-horned rhinoceros will not take place this year due to a lack of funds.
- Revenue from ticket sales at national parks is divided between the government’s general budget and funds to support local communities, leaving wildlife officials dependent on donors to finance activities like the census.
- This year’s census was believed to be particularly critical because large numbers of Nepal’s rhinos are dying due to unexplained or natural causes, prompting questions about the carrying capacity of Chitwan National Park, the country’s rhino stronghold.
- Experts believe a census this year could reveal a decline in population, a politically unpalatable outcome in a country where rhino conservation is a matter of national prestige.

Better than sex? For hard-to-breed rhinos, technology strives for a solution
- Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are being developed to improve the outcomes of captive-breeding programs for rhinos.
- If successful, these efforts could help create a self-sustaining reserve population and help diversify the gene pool of wild populations.
- ARTs have been successfully used in both humans and livestock since the 1970s, but have not been as effective in wildlife species such as rhinos.
- Experts say they believe ART could play an important role in rhino conservation, but caution that these technologies are only one part of the solution.

Nepal reckons with the dark side of its rhino conservation success
- A recent film glorifying rangers in Chitwan National Park, and a Buzzfeed investigation highlighting human rights abuses by those same rangers, have prompted debate over Nepal’s conservation practices.
- The country has achieved remarkable success in protecting species like the greater one-horned rhino, and conservationists say efforts to engage with and support communities around Chitwan have greatly increased since the 1990s.
- Rights activists say local people suffer due to a prevailing attitude that disregards the rights of historically marginalized people and denies them a genuine role in policymaking.

West Bengal’s rhino population hits a record high
- A census carried out in February in India’s West Bengal state counted 231 rhinos in Jaldapara National Park and 52 in Gorumara National Park, up from 204 and 49, respectively, in 2015.
- Both figures are the highest recorded since authorities began taking official rhino counts in the 1920s.
- While encouraged by the rising rhino numbers, conservationists have raised concerns about the skewed sex ratios in both parks, a scarcity of grazing land, and the ever-present threat of poaching.

Invasive plants a fast-growing threat to India’s rhinos
- In 2018, biologists observed the invasive plant Parthenium, known locally as congress grass, establishing itself in grasslands of India’s Pobitora National Park.
- Invasive species threaten protected areas in Assam state, and herbivores like the greater one-horned rhinos that live within them, by crowding out the native plants animals rely on for food.
- Each of Assam state’s four rhino reserves currently faces threats from invasive plants including Parthenium, Mimosa, Mikania and water hyacinth.
- Experts are contemplating the use of several strategies to tackle invasive plants, including manual removal and the introduction of biological control agents such as the Mexican beetle that feeds on Parthenium.

Nepal, in a bid to create a new rhino population, pauses to take stock
- Efforts to establish a population of Indian rhinos in Nepal’s Bardia National Park have a checkered history.
- The park received 87 rhinos from Chitwan National Park between 1986 and 2003, a process that continued even as Bardia was buffeted by armed conflict. Only 22 of those rhinos survived.
- Two years ago, Bardia began receiving rhinos again, although so far just eight of a planned 25 have been relocated. Two of them have since died.

India-Nepal agreement to boost transborder conservation of rhinos, tigers
- India and Nepal, which share a border running more than 1,850 kilometers (1,150 miles), are set to sign an agreement strengthening transboundary conservation of species like the Indian rhino, Bengal tiger and Asian elephant.
- The memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed before India’s upcoming parliamentary elections, slated for April and May this year.
- The MOU is expected to put an emphasis on cooperation for the conservation and protection of tigers, whose population has increased in both countries over the past decade.

Nepal court blocks road construction in rhino stronghold of Chitwan Park
- Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the second-largest population of greater one-horned rhinos, as well as Bengal tigers and hundreds of other species.
- Plans to construct road and rail links through the park alarmed conservationists and landed Nepal with a formal warning from UNESCO.
- On Feb. 13, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government not to build new roads inside Chitwan without approval from UNESCO, the park management and other stakeholders.

Rhinos or roads? Nepal deals with a tricky balancing act
- Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the world’s second largest population of greater one-horned rhinos, as well as nearly 100 Bengal tigers and more than 54 other mammal species.
- After a 2016 mission, UNESCO warned that Chitwan could be placed on the World Heritage in Danger list if a number of planned infrastructure projects were completed as proposed.
- Since then, the largest projects have been suspended or rerouted; now, conservationists say they are more concerned by the impacts of unplanned urbanization and local flood-control projects.
- Local officials often struggle to balance protecting Chitwan’s ecosystem against the popular demand for infrastructure development projects.

Deadly tsunami leaves Javan rhinos untouched, but peril persists
- A tsunami that killed more than 400 people in Indonesia has left the last remaining population of Javan rhinos unscathed.
- The species’ last habitat, Ujung Kulon National Park, was hit by the Dec. 22 tsunami caused by an eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano, but the rhinos were not in harm’s way, officials have confirmed.
- The disaster has once again highlighted the constant peril that the species lives under, and strengthened calls to establish a new habitat elsewhere to ensure the survival of the rhino.

‘At capacity’? A Nepali park reckons with its rhinos
- An investigation into a recent increase in natural deaths among the 600 greater one-horned rhinos in Chitwan National Park suggested the park may have reached its carrying capacity for the species.
- The park and its resources are facing pressure both from a growing population of rhinos within the park and from increasing human settlement on its periphery.
- Assessments of the park’s carrying capacity for rhinos vary wildly, ranging from 500 to more than 2,000, leading to differences of opinion about the role overcrowding could play in rhino deaths.

What’s killing Nepal’s rhinos?
- Nepal has had remarkable success at tackling the poaching of its greater one-horned rhinos. But since 2015, it has witnessed a sharp increase in deaths from unknown or natural causes.
- A number of theories have been advanced to explain the deaths: habitat degradation in Chitwan National Park and its surroundings leading to increased conflict over resources; the area reaching its natural carrying capacity for rhinos; a “baby boomer” die-off; or a simple shift in cause of death from death by poaching to death by natural causes.
- The government commissioned a study into the problem, but the report has not been published

In a rhino stronghold, indigenous wood-carvers cut through stereotypes
- Local artisans near northeast India’s Kaziranga National Park say their wildlife-inspired woodcraft is an expression of nature-friendly values, and counters stereotypes of tribal people as antagonistic to conservation.
- Small, locally owned workshops face competition from big-city businesses who control prime retail locations and can undercut their prices.
- Carving a fast-growing local wood by hand, sculptors say theirs is a green craft, and should be promoted and supported by the government.

Rhino poop gives villagers in India a conservation incentive
- Elrhino company uses the fiber from rhino dung, along with other locally available products, to produce high-end paper products.
- The founders of the company aim to help preserve India’s greater one-horned rhinos by giving villagers a financial incentive to help protect the species.
- The company employs local residents to collect rhino waste, to work in the paper factory, and to produce decorations for its paper products.

In its fight against rhino poachers, India lets the dogs out
- Since 2011, two dog squads have been deployed to help protect the greater one-horned rhinos of India’s Assam state.
- Together, the squads are credited with assisting in more than 46 arrests.
- Both the dogs and their handlers go through intensive training to develop and maintain their skills and the crucial bond that allows them to work as a team.

Mining, erosion threaten Indian rhino haven
- India’s Kaziranga National Park, home to the world’s largest population of the greater one-horned rhinoceros, is under great risk of losing its connectivity with the larger Karbi Anglong landscape due to mining, quarrying and river erosion, a new report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has warned.
- The NTCA report and directive comes in response to a complaint filed by activist Rohit Choudhury alleging significant environmental degradation and habitat destruction in the foothills of Karbi Anglong, a prime elephant habitat during the flood season.
- Illegal mining and stone crushing aside, the NTCA report highlighted river erosion as a “natural threat” to Kaziranga. But experts caution that erosion is a natural part of Kaziranga’s flood-plain ecology, and isn’t necessarily bad.

Guardians of India’s rhinos find it takes a village to fight poachers
- Adjacent to an international border and with roads, a rail line and tea plantations within its boundaries, India’s Jaldapara National Park — home to more than 200 rhinos — is particularly vulnerable to poaching.
- The forest department works closely with local residents to protect rhinos, and 40 percent of tourist revenues are earmarked to support community projects.
- Forest department strategies range from rehabilitation of confessed poachers to joint exercises with the police and border patrol.

In unsuspecting Indian villages, the international rhino horn trade takes a toll
- The vast majority of villagers around India’s Jaldapara National Park live in harmony with the area’s wildlife, but a small minority get involved in rhino poaching.
- Experts and former poachers say villagers are recruited by organized poaching syndicates. Locals serve as guides and lookouts, while syndicates arrange for the transport and sale of rhino horns.
- From West Bengal, rhino horns are taken to India’s northeastern states and then across the border to Myanmar and eventually to China.

Can India’s ‘People’s Forest’ also serve as a haven for rhinos?
- Jadav Payeng, India’s “Forest Man,” transformed a barren island in Assam state into a 550-hectare (1,360-acre) forest that hosts rare species including rhinos, tigers and elephants.
- Some conservationists fear that the animals living on the island are vulnerable to poaching, since the forest lacks formal protected status and therefore is not allotted official forest guards.
- Payeng, however, resists seeking formal protected status for the forest, fearing it would limit local peoples’ access to the forest’s resources.

Sending a message about rhino conservation in Nepal
- Since 2011, Nepal has recorded five 365-day periods without any rhinos poached, despite its proximity to the key rhino-horn markets of Vietnam and China.
- Experts say strategic communications have been an important tool in this conservation success.
- The communications strategies used involve not just getting out the word about conservation successes through new and old media, but also seeking ideas and feedback from local communities.

Kaziranga’s rhino census finds the population is growing, but more slowly than expected
- Kaziranga National Park in India’s Assam state is home to the majority of the world’s greater one-horned rhinos.
- A census completed in March counted 2,413 rhinos, an increase of 12 individuals since 2015.
- Officials believe rhinos were undercounted, likely due to poor visibility. Other observers suggest changes should be made to survey methodology.
- If the numbers are accurate, it could suggest the park has reached its carrying capacity. However, a large number of young rhinos were counted, indicating that the population remains healthy and breeding.

Javan rhino population holds steady amid ever-present peril
- The latest survey from the Indonesian government shows the population of the Javan rhino, one of the world’s most endangered large mammals, holding steady in its last remaining habitat.
- While the findings indicate a healthy and breeding rhino population, wildlife experts warn of the dangers looming over the animal’s existence, including human encroachment into its habitat and the ever-present threat of a volcanic eruption and tsunami.
- The Javan rhino is one of the last three Asian rhino species — alongside the Sumatran and Indian rhinos — all of which have been pushed to the brink of extinction.

Biofuel project near India’s rhino heartland sparks protests
- India’s state-owned Numaligarh Refinery Limited and Finnish firm Chempolis Oy plan to build a bioethanol refinery near Kaziranga National Park in India’s Assam State.
- The project is touted as green and sustainable, but faces opposition from local activists who fear it will cause pollution, increase human-wildlife conflict, and negatively impact the habitat of elephants, rhinos and other wildlife.
- Activists also cite concerns about the project’s environmental impact assessment process, and its proposed location in an officially designated “no-development zone.”

A tranquilizer shortage is holding back rhino management plans in India
- Conservationists rely on a semi-synthetic opioid called Etorphine HCl to tranquilize rhinos for veterinary care, translocation and other critical interventions.
- Due to export regulations in South Africa, and red tape at home, Indian states face a critical shortage of the drug.
- The lack of Etorphine is already holding up translocation plans in several protected areas, and preventing veterinarians from caring for injured animals.

Three rhinos killed in 48 hours in India’s Kaziranga National Park
- An adult female rhino was killed by poachers Nov. 2, and a female and her calf Nov. 4, in Kaziranga National Park.
- Kaziranga, which is home to the world’s largest population of greater one-horned rhinoceros, had previously only lost two rhinos to poachers in 2017.
- State officials have vowed to provide park guards with more sophisticated arms, while park authorities cite the need to more surveillance inside the park’s difficult terrain.

India and Nepal team up to rescue flooded rhinos
- At least 15 greater one-horned rhinoceroses have been swept across the Indo-Nepal border by this year’s monsoon floods.
- Officials from both countries have worked together to find and rescue the flood-swept animals.
- The floods pose great dangers for rhinos, but highlight the progress made by cross-border conservation initiatives between India, Nepal and Bhutan.

In Nepal, the rhino evokes national pride
- Nepal’s greater one-horned rhinos were historically revered for their spiritual potency as well as for their value as thrilling quarry for sport hunting.
- The rise of wildlife tourism in the 1960s and 70s brought awareness of the economic value of live, free-roaming rhinos — helping to increase support for conservation.
- As rhino numbers soar, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict, conservationists are working to ensure rhinos don’t become victims of their own success.

Flood hits India’s Kaziranga National Park, killing four rhinos
- Annual monsoon floods are a natural part of Kaziranga National Park’s ecosystem but pose multiple threats to animals, including the risk of drowning or getting poached or hit by cars while fleeing rising water.
- According to officials, 81 animals have been killed in this year’s flood, including four rhinos. Another 78 animals have been stranded or injured.
- Mitigation measures include increased monitoring by rangers, police and drones; closely tracking the speed of vehicles through the park; and the construction of artificial highlands.
- Authorities are also considering a controversial proposal to build a road-cum-embankment to prevent floodwaters from inundating the park.

Behind rising rhino numbers in Nepal, a complex human story
- The fortunes of the indigenous Tharu people and Nepal’s rhinos have been linked for centuries.
- The establishment of Chitwan National Park in 1973 deepened the marginalization the Tharu, evicting thousands from their land and depriving them of access to the forest.
- Since the 1990s, conservation groups have been working to develop a community-based conservation model that includes the Tharu.
- Other ethnic groups have long remained outside the community conservation model, and have in some cases turned to poaching for income.

Nepal’s rhino numbers rise, thanks to national and local commitment
- Nepal’s population of greater one-horned rhinos has fluctuated wildly over the past century.
- Widespread in the early 1900s, rhinos were reduced to a few pockets by the 1950s and around 100 individuals in the 1970s.
- Conservation efforts boosted the population by the 1990s, but the 1996-2006 Maoist insurgency took a devastating toll.
- Numbers are now rising again, a trend attributed to commitment at both the grassroots and the highest levels of government.

India’s Assam state moves to fast track trials for wildlife crime
- Poachers in Assam state target endangered and vulnerable species including rhinos, tigers and leopards.
- Even when poachers are caught, authorities have often struggled to secure convictions.
- Assam is working to reverse this trend with the establishment of fast-track courts for wildlife crime, as well as training programs for police and forest officials.
- Six convictions have been secured in wildlife cases this year, compared to just one in all of 2016.

The women who live alongside rhinos in India
- India’s rising population of greater one-horned rhinos brings residents of villages bordering protected areas into proximity with the animals.
- Women — who are generally responsible for collecting fodder, fuelwood and other forest products — are particularly likely to have encounters with rhinos.
- In Manas and Orang national parks, where authorities allow local women access to the parks’ buffer zones, such sightings are a source of joy and pride.
- In Kaziranga, where access has been cut off, women express resentment that their fortunes have so far not risen in tandem with the rhinos’.

When it comes to rhino conservation, Asia and Africa can learn a lot from each other
- Despite its proximity to Asian markets for trafficked rhino horn, Nepal has lost only four rhinos to poaching since 2011.
- Experts credit this success to a combination of top-down enforcement and efforts to involve the community in conservation.
- Protected areas in Africa that have collaborated with area residents have shown promising results, suggesting lessons from Nepal can be successfully applied elsewhere.
- In turn, conservationists say Nepal can benefit from African countries’ expertise in promoting wildlife tourism, and alternate models of benefit sharing.

Bringing rhinos back to India’s parks
- Launched in 2005, the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 aimed to boost the population of rhinos in Assam State and expand the species’ range within the state from three protected areas to seven.
- Manas National Park was the first to receive translocated rhinos. The animals appeared to adapt well to their new home, but poachers repeatedly struck the park.
- The program then turned to Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary, but the rhinos moved there grew sick and died.
- Conservationists still believe the overarching goal of boosting the state’s rhino population to 3,000 by 2020 is achievable.

Skewed sex ratio spells danger for rhinos in India’s Gorumara National Park
- Gorumara National Park, in India’s West Bengal State, is home to a small but steadily growing population of greater one-horned rhinoceroses, currently numbering 51 individuals.
- Despite its overall growth, the sex ratio of the park’s rhino population is severely imbalanced, with more reproductive-aged males than females.
- Ideally, there should be more females than males. A male-heavy population threatens the long-term reproductive and genetic viability of the population, as well as leading to increased conflict over mates.
- Until this spring, Gorumara had been relatively free of poaching since the 1990s. However, two dead rhinos were found in April, and another suspected poaching incident was reported May 18.

With poaching curtailed, a new menace to Nepal’s wildlife
- Since 2011, with poaching largely under control in the country, conservationists in Nepal have been paying increasing attention to the risks of diseases spreading to wildlife from domesticated animals.
- Domesticated animals near Chitwan National Park form a reservoir of pathogens that could cross to wildlife. Veterinarians have already identified tuberculosis in a dead rhino and a suspected case of canine distemper in a leopard.
- The country currently lacks facilities to fully analyze and respond to the threat of diseases, but local and international groups are working to rapidly increase capacity.

Fighting a plant to save rhinos in Nepal
- Mikania micrantha, a plant native to the Americas, has been present in Chitwan National Park since the 1990s. As of 2010, it was present in 20 percent of the park, becoming a threat to wildlife and local people’s livelihoods.
- The plant is particularly prevalent in habitats like wetlands, grasslands and riverine forests, which are also favored habitats for the more than 600 one-horned rhinos living in the park.
- Mikania chokes out native fodder species, pushing rhinos and other grazers out of the safety of the park and increasing human-wildlife conflict, researchers have found.
- Mikania is extremely difficult to eradicate since plants produce up to 40,000 seeds per year and can re-root from even small stems. Efforts are underway to improve removal strategies and engage local communities in the work.

Despite numerous challenges, rhinos are thriving in India’s Jaldapara National Park
- Jaldapara National Park in the northern fringe of West Bengal hosts more than 200 one-horned rhinos.
- Growing demand for rhino horn means poaching is a rising threat, especially when anti-poaching measures in neighboring Assam State prompt poaching networks to seek new targets.
- In addition to extensive anti-poaching patrols, the park’s management is relying on cooperation with residents of nearby villages to protect the park’s wildlife.
- The park now shares 40 percent of ecotourism revenue with community-based Joint Forest Management Committees, trains former offenders as wildlife protectors and is developing other projects to integrate the welfare of communities and wildlife.

One-horned rhino killed by poachers in Nepal
- The body of a male one-horned rhinoceros was found with its horn gouged out on Saturday in Nepal’s Chitwan Park.
- Chitwan Park was gearing up to celebrate three consecutive years without any rhino poaching.
- Nepal has one of the world’s most effective anti-poaching programs, and the country’s rhino population is on the rise.

Kaziranga: the frontline of India’s rhino wars
- Kaziranga National Park in India’s Assam State is home to around 2,400 one-horned rhinos, as well as elephants, tigers and hundreds of other mammal and bird species.
- India’s rhinos were hunted nearly to extinction by the early 20th century, but have rebounded since the park was established. However, rhino horn is highly sought in the black market and poaching remains a constant threat.
- Rangers in Kaziranga rely on antiquated weaponry to face off against poachers, whose links with international crime syndicates mean they are often better armed and better financed than forest guards.
- The park’s approach to conservation has drawn criticism from indigenous rights group Survival International, a critique that gained prominence in a recent BBC documentary.

Saving orphaned baby rhinos in India
- The Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation, near Kaziranga National Park in Assam State, is currently home to nine greater one-horned rhino calves, including eight orphaned in monsoon floods last year.
- Carers at the center hand raise these young rhinos with the aim of reintroducing them to the wild when they are old enough to fend for themselves.
- Since 2002, the center has raised and released 14 rhino calves, along with young from other species including elephants and wild buffalo.
- Raising these vulnerable animals requires years of painstaking effort.

Reducing Asia’s hunger for rhino horn
- In 2015, the most recent full year for which data is available, more than 1,350 rhinos were killed for their horns in Africa and Asia.
- The vast majority of rhino horn is bound for destinations outside of the source country, meaning that conservationists in places like South Africa or India can do little to fight demand.
- Demand reduction efforts currently center on China and Vietnam, the primary destinations for poached rhino horn.
- Effective demand reduction campaigns require research into consumer behavior and careful targeting of messages.

India’s Manas National Park illustrates the human dimension of rhino conservation
- Manas National Park, one of India’s rhino conservation areas, is at the heart of a proposed homeland for the Bodos, an indigenous ethnic group.
- From the 1980s until 2003, the park was engulfed by armed conflict, and its rhino population was wiped out. During this period, the Bodos were frequently portrayed as hostile to conservation efforts.
- A 2003 peace accord paved the way for the establishment of autonomous local governance, and the restoration of rhinos to the park. Former guerrillas now serve as anti-poaching patrols.
- With the Bodos in power, a new group has been cast as ecological villains: Bengali Muslims living in the fringes of the park.

Fighting rhino poaching in India, CSI-style
- RhODIS, the Rhino DNA Index System, relies on a database of rhino DNA collected from across rhino range states in Africa.
- The system, developed in South Africa, allows investigators to link captured poachers and confiscated horns to specific poaching incidents.
- Researchers are currently working to expand the database to include Asian rhino species.
- This year, India is expected to be the first Asian country to roll out the program as part of its anti-poaching strategy.

Meet one of the filmmakers behind Planet Earth 2
- Planet Earth II, produced by the BBC, involved 40 different countries and more than 2,000 days of shooting.
- The six-part series showcased some of the rarest footage of wildlife from remote islands and deserts to high mountain ranges, forests, grasslands and bustling cities.
- Mongabay interviewed one of the filmmakers involved, Sandesh Kadur, to understand what it takes to film captivating sequences of animals in the wild and within cities.

Trouble in India’s rhino paradise
- Two one-horned rhinos were shot in Kaziranga National Park in December, bringing the park’s total number of poaching-related rhino deaths to 18 for the year.
- Anti-poaching efforts face huge challenges: burgeoning demand for rhino horn in nearby China and Vietnam, easy terrain for poachers, poverty in the fringes of the park, and the presence of armed insurgent groups in the region.
- Officials have responded by boosting anti-poaching patrols and punishing rangers found to be neglecting their duties, adopting new technologies and clearing encroachments on parkland.
- Despite the ongoing threat of poaching, Kaziranga’s rhino population is growing.

Nepal’s extraordinary devotion to preserving its rhinos
- Despite its proximity to China, the epicenter of demand for wildlife products, only one of Nepal’s rhinos has been killed by poachers since 2014.
- Observers credit this success to broad-based support for conservation, including at the highest levels of Nepal’s government and military.
- Other species also benefit from this commitment to conservation, including elephants and tigers.

Nepal goes high-tech in its fight against rhino poachers
- Since 2011, Nepal has had four 365-day stretches with no rhino poaching and has seen its rhino population increase by 21 percent.
- Experts say Nepal’s success is largely down to unity of purpose from officials, conservation groups and communities, but technology plays a key role too.
- Anti-poaching patrols have experimented with a wide variety of high-tech tools including GPS collars and drones.

Rhino killed in India’s Kaziranga Park, highlighting the ever-present threat of poachers
- At least 16 rhinos have been killed for their horns this year in India’s Assam State.
- The most recent killing happened last Friday in Kaziranga National Park.
- The state’s new government has vowed to crack down on poaching and has worked to build collaboration between police and forest patrols.
- Arrests are increasing, but forest officials still struggle to get convictions in court.

Feeds: news | india | latam | brasil | indonesia