A female rhino, which was found in an injured state, died during treatment in Chitwan National Park (CNP) on Saturday. On the same day a tiger was also found dead in the park. 

According to the CNP administration, the female rhino—thought to be five years old—had sustained serious injuries in an attack of another rhino in Setidevi Community Forest on Friday. The conservationists suspect that the female rhino had been injured during mating.

“The preliminary investigation shows that the female rhino sustained injuries in an attack by a male rhino. We rescued the injured rhino that had fallen into a pit with the help of an elephant. The rhino died during treatment,” said Assistant Conservation Officer Narendra Aryal.

According to the health workers involved in the treatment, the rhino sustained serious injuries in its hind part. Its backbone was also fractured in the attack.

A postmortem has been performed on the dead rhino, the CNP said, adding that an autopsy report will provide more details about the causes of its death.

Similarly, an adult tiger was found dead in a rivulet on the way to Kasara from Sauraha. The park authorities buried the tiger after conducting a test to determine the cause of its death.

According to the latest census, there are 605 rhinos and 120 tigers in the CNP.