Text and Photos: Shiva Puri

With the increase in number of one-horned rhinoceroses at Chitwan National Park (CNP) following painstaking conservation efforts for the past few years, the government has started relocating rhinos from CNP to other protected areas like Bardiya National Park and Suklaphanta National Park.

As part of its recent effort, a huge project was launched at CNP on Monday to translocate five rhinos to Suklaphanta National Park.

The CNP area looked different today as 30 giant elephants were stationed for capturing the rhinos. Around 100 CNP experts specialised in ‘darting’ started looking for the rhinos in the dark forest. When the team arrived near Rapti River, they spotted one mother rhino and its three calves.

Technician Tirtha Bahadur Tamang darted the rhino with a gun. Five minutes later, the rhino felt unconscious and the team enclosed it inside a cage. The search for other rhinos was underway.

CNP Chief Conservation Officer Ram Chandra Kandel said the action follows government decision to translocate five rhinos from Sukhibhar area in CNP to Suklaphanta. Rhinos aged 13-14 years are being ferried to new home. He informed that the operation aims to capture one male and four female rhinos from CNP for translocation.

Earlier in 2001, four rhinos were translocated from CNP to Suklaphanta. The favorable habitat in Suklaphanta has seen the increment in rhinos which have now reached nine in number.

CNP, which has been exemplary in rhino conservation, had also translocated five rhinos to Bardiya National Park last year.

The government has planned to shift altogether 30 rhinos in these two new destinations—five to Suklaphanta and 25 to Bardiya.