Count of rare rhinos underway in Nepal
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Wildlife officials in Nepal Tuesday began a three week count of the country's greater one-horned rhinoceroses. WWF staff members are part of a group conducting the census from atop captive Asian elephants.
Greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) are found in three Nepalese national parks and in northern India. The last census of greater one-horned rhinos in Nepal conducted in 2008 recorded 435 animals. Of that total, 408 were living in Chitwan National Park.
The census is expected to show growth in rhino numbers as a result of better protection and habitat improvements.
"With increased WWF investments into anti-poaching, through a campaign codenamed "Stop the Bleeding" in the Terai Arc of Nepal, we hope to find evidence of an increasing rhino population," says Dr. Christy Williams, WWF's Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy coordinator.
Since the last census, 28 rhinos have been killed by poachers in Chitwan, while another 32 died of natural causes, officials say. Rhino horn is prized as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicine, despite lack of scientific support for the curative claims attributed to it.
While conducting the rhino survey, officials will also install camera traps and examine habitat quality, including determining the pervasiveness of a damaging invasive plant.
In Nepal, WWF works to protect rhinos from poachers and expand rhino range by translocating animals to new habitats.
