24/03/2005 – A team of
wildlife specialists has headed to the north-east
side of Nepal’s Royal Chitwan National Park
to take part in Rhino Count 2005 to determine
the park’s current rhinoceros population size.
“The Rhino Count is aimed at determining
the present rhino population and to provide
guidelines for long-term conservation and
management of this critically endangered species,”
said Dr Sarala Khaling, Director of WWF Nepal’s
Development, Research and Monitoring Unit.
“It will also assess the effect of poaching
on rhino populations in the park.”
The Rhino Count is conducted every five years
to determine the status of the endangered
greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis).
In 2000, there were an estimated 535 rhinos
in the Royal Chitwan National Park, with 73
in the Royal Bardia National Park and 4 in
the Royal Suklaphata Wildlife Reserve.
Just over 2,100 one-horned rhinos survive
in the wild — approximately 600 in Nepal and
1,480 in India. One of WWF's first initiatives
in Nepal was to provide rhino conservation
assistance to the wildlife sanctuary in 1967.
This sanctuary became Royal Chitwan National
Park in 1973. At the time, there were only
around 80 rhinos.
The basis for identifying individual animals
includes shape and horn size, folds present
in the neck and rump, special body marking
(cuts, scars, skin lobes) and any other special
characteristics present on both flanks of
the body. To avoid double counting, careful
observations are being made to record both
sides of each rhino observed. Special attention
is being given to differentiate the sex among
each rhino so as to estimate the population's
sex ratio.
During the Count, each rhinoceros will be
located and counted by well-trained wildlife
biologists and wildlife technicians riding
on 25-30 domestic elephants to aid their work.
"The method has already been proven
most effective, practical and reliable to
estimate population size of mega herbivores
like rhinoceros," Khaling said.
Rhino Count 2005 is being conducted over
a one month period by WWF Nepal in collaboration
with Nepal’s Department of National Parks
and Wildlife Conservation and the King Mahendra
Trust for Nature Conservation.
