Preparations are underway to translocate one-horned rhinos from the Chitwan National Park (CNP) to the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR), Chief Conservation Officer Bed Kumar Dhakal of the reserve said on Friday.

According to Dhakal, three female and two male rhinos will be brought to the SWR from the CNP in about one month.

A decision to translocate five rhinos to the SWR was taken by the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation in October 2014.

The last time one-horned rhinos were transferred to the SWR from the CNP was in 2000.

The reserve is suitable a suitable habitat for rhinos, said Dhakal, adding that the first one-horned rhino was spotted here was in 1995. “The rhino had entered Nepal from India,” he said.

The Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, which spreads across 305 square kilometres, is also considered an ideal habitat for swamp deer. The reserve has the highest number of swamp deer (2,300 as per last year’s count) in the country.

The government had shifted five rhinos from the CNP to Bardiya National Park in May.

BNP welcomes new member

GULARIYA: A rhino inside the Bardiya National Park (BNP) has given birth to a calf on Friday. Ramesh Kumar Thapa, acting chief conservation officer, said the park officials could not ascertain the gender of the calf from afar. Rhinos are known to be fiercely protective of their newborns, so it was best not to get too close to the new mother and her calf, he added. The number of rhinos inside the BNP has reached seven with the arrival of a new member. (PR)