A male calf of protected one-horned rhino that was under the care of Sauraha-based National Trust for Nature Conservation ( NTNC) which took ill after being swept away by the recent flood died.

According to Chitwan National Park's assistant conservation officer Abhinay Pathak, the rhino calf was swept away along with its mother by the flood on August 12 and it was later retrieved from the Narayani River bank. The flood separated the mother and calf and since then it was named 'Mayure' under the care of the NTNC.

Though the calf was rescued alive, it suddenly fell sick and failed to restore its health, CNP senior veterinary Dr Kamal Gaire said. During the test, the baby pachyderm was diagnosed with a problem in its intestine.

It was named after the Mayure Forest of Amaltari, Nawalparasi.

Earlier, two adult rhinos had died due to the floods. RSS